Brainstorm for Psionic Tricks, Tactics, and Combos Handbook

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Inspired by some of the stuff in this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177665) I've decided to try my hand at writing a Psionic Tricks Handbook. It would be a sort of clearing house for psionic tricks, tactics, and combos. Trouble is, I'm no expert on what tricks you can pull with Psionics. So I humbly ask for help in this endeavor.

The MoI Recharge Trick -
The Recharge Trick uses Midnight Augmentation, Linked Power and Metapower to manifest Bestow Power (linked to a 1st level power) with a lower power point cost than power points bestowed by Bestow Power. This allows your psychic to do his thing, all day long.
Feats: Midnight Augmentation, Linked Power, Metapower, Psicrystal Containment
Powers: Bestow Power, a first level power (Here I use Synchronicity)
Method:
1. Focus yourself and your Psicrystal
2. You choose Synchronicity to be effected by Midnight Augmentation, investing one essentia
3. Expend your Psychic Focus to manifest a Synchronicity (which you have chosen to permanently join Linked Power to by Metapower)
4. Expend your Psicrystal's Psychic Focus to manifest Synchronicity, linked to Bestow Power (Costs reduced by Midnight Augmentation for -1, and Metapower for -2, reducing the cost of the Hustle/Bestow Power combo to 1 PP)
5. Refocus yourself and your Psicrystal (Doable in one round, if you choose Synchronicity as your 1st level power)
6. Repeat 3-6
Minimum Level: 3 (Higher without Flaws + Human)

The Meditation Hustle -
The Meditation Hustle uses Psicrystal Containment, Psionic Meditation Twin Power, Linked Power, and Hustle to use one metapsionic feat per turn (with two every other turn)
Feats: Psicrystal Containment, Psionic Meditation, Twin Power, Linked Power
Powers: Hustle
Method:
1. Both you and your Psicrystal are focused
2. With your Swift, manifest Twinned Hustle linked to Hustle (expending both focuses - total PP cost 3+3+6 = 12.) - you now have two extra move actions, with a third one coming in the next round. Use the two extra move actions to regain both your focus and your psicrystal's, then take your other actions for the turn as normal (move and standard.)
3. Next round, your linked Hustle goes off. Use your swift again to repeat (2).

You now have 3 bonus move actions (2 from the twinned hustle, and the third one from last round's linked power.) Use two of them to regain your foci again, and you have your standard + 2 move actions. This of course means that you can manifest a standard-action power modified with two more metapsionic feats (any), use your two move actions to regain your foci, and start the cycle over from (1).
Minimum Level: 12

The Mad Minute-
The Mad Minute uses Temporal Acceleration, Fission, Affinity Field, and Synchronicity to effectively grant you infinite standard actions, at least until you run out of power points (remember never to go so low that you can't manifest an augmented Bestow Power to recharge).
Feats:
Powers: Affinity Field, Fission, Synchronicity, Temporal Acceleration
Method:
1. Manifest Temporal Acceleration as a swift action for at least 3 rounds
A. Manifest Fission as your Standard Action for Temporal Acceleration round 1
B. Fissioned copy manifests Affinity Field
C. Fissioned copy manifests Synchronicity, augmented to 3 PP, which effects you both (via Affinity Field)
2. You use your standard action from Synchronicity to do as you will, your Fissioned Copy uses its standard action to manifest Synchronicity, repeat from 2.
Minimum Level: 17

Move by Wire-
Move by Wire uses Control Body and your Psicrystal to grant you extra physical actions. It has been pointed out that this requires that you manifest Solicit Psicrystal and the feat Psicrystal Affinity.
Powers: Control Body, Solicit Psicrystal
Feats:
Method:
1. Manifest Control Body, targeting yourself
2. Manifest Solicit Psicrystal, let your Psicrystal take over the concentration of Control Body
3. Have your Psicrystal force you to take a physical standard and move action
4. Repeat 3 for the duration of Control Body/Solicit Psicrystal
Minimum Level: 7

The Save Game Trick-
The Save State Psion 1.0
By Tleilaxu_Ghola

The Simple Summary
This trick works by abusing time hop to send your psicrystal days forward in time, and forced dream (Magic of Eberron 104), which will return him back in time to the moment you manifested time hop. Doing so will undo whatever caused your party to wipe, because the psicrystal's Dream began before you time hopped it. (Presumably while you were all alive and kicking.)

There's a couple of other things you'll need to make it work, below:

Abstract
With this trick one is able to create "save" game points, with a minimal cost of 15 XP for psionic contingency. The trick allows one to adventure for a day and then reload the save game point if something went awry.

Ingredients:
Forced Dream (Magic of Eberron 104)
Anticipatory Strike (Complete Psionic 78)
Time Hop (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHop.htm) (Mass version (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHopMass.htm) lasts longer, for a full day of adventuring)
Psionic Contingency (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHopMass.htm)
A Psicrystal
Status (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/status.htm)
Imbue with Spell Ability (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/imbuewithspellability.htm)
Metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm) - needed if your DM ignores Player's Handbook 177 that states a creature can suppress racial resistances/immunities to magic.
Sending Stones [Optional magic item] (Complete Arcane 150, 15K per linked pair)

Forced Dream: Psion/Wilder 3
[Paraphrased]
Any time during the 1 round/level duration (or minutes per level with 4 pp augment), you can spend a swift action to restart your turn. As forced dream says, "When this effect is used, everyone and everything is reset to the state they were at when the subject's turn began. Any spells or abilities used are available again, any damage dealt is healed , any effects incurred are negated, any objects or creatures moved are reset to their original position, and so on. The only exception to this is that any power points spent to manifest forced dream are not recovered..." Forced dream ends when the swift action to do this is expended or when the duration expired.

The Trick
Manifest psionic contingency on your psicrystal placing a contingent ancipatory strike on him contingent on the event: returns to the normal time stream from a time hop.

If desired, share metamorphosis with your psicrystal to transform him into something that isn't immune to mind-affecting compulsions. Heck you could transform him into an object of any size if you wish. (Player's Handbook 177 states a creature can suppress racial resistances and immunities to magical/psionic effects, meaning metamorphosis is just for show.) Have the party Cleric use imbue with spell ability on the psicrsytal so that it can use the spell status. (A Spell to Power Erudite, Cerebremancer, Psychic Theurge or someone with an item can cast status himself.) Mix with affinity field if you wish the psicrystal to have knowledge of all party members' condition, though this requires a level 9 (!) power.

The psicrystal casts status on you or whatever party member you choose. This person's condition will determine whether or not the save state will be reloaded, so choose carefully. NOTE: Status will NOT work across planes! Be careful!

Manifest forced dream on your psicrystal at some time before you fear harm will befall you. Ready a standard action to manifest a contingent time hop on your party (+2PP per target) when the psicrystal moves. Tell the psicrystal to do so, advancing him hours / level ahead in time. With enough ML you can advance your psicrystal nearly a day. Adventure on your merry way, whilst your psicrystal is outside the time stream.

If your party succumbs to a TOTAL PARTY KILL, your psicrystal will still be alive and kicking the next day. No time will pass for him and when he comes out of the time hop and the contingency will grant him sufficient actions to check the status of the party, provided they are on the same plane as the psicrystal. (If on another plane, there's a 5% chance of failure.) The psicrystal may also use a Sending Stone to ask whether his master would like to reload or not. If the party member is under a certain condition or if the master tells the crystal to, the save state is reloaded as the psicrystal spends a swift action to return to the beginning of his turn, which began with you manifesting time hop on him right before he started moving. You may now retry whatever you failed to accomplish.


The Embrace of Mother Earth-

Minimum Level: 3 (if you ignore WBL)

You need:
1) Torc of Power Preservation (the more expensive one in the Expanded Psionic Handbook - NOT the cheaper one in the Magic Item Compendium)
2) Earth Power (and it's requirement, Earth Sense).
3) Bestow Power
4) At least one remaining power point (you could use Body Fuel, but that's a bad idea)
5) Natural stone to stand on

Method:
1) Psionically Focus Yourself (requirement for use of Earth Power)
2) Stand on the natural stone (requirement for use of Earth Power)
3) Manifest Bestow Power on yourself, do NOT augment it.
4) Repeat until full of power points.

What happens? Well, Bestow Power costs 3 points to manifest, and bestows two on the target (you). Earth Power reduces the cost by 1. The Torc of Power Preservation reduces the cost by 1. So you bestow yourself 2 power points at the cost of 1 power point.

You Squared-

Minimum Level: 17

You need:
1) Affinity Field
2) Bestow Power
3) At least 59 remaining Power Points
4) Fission (or another Psion with Bestow Power, but Fission is doing it with Style)

Method:
1) Manifest Fission (which costs 13 PP, and cuts your remaining power points in half - you'll need at least 23 remaining after that)
2) Manifest Affinity Field (Cost: 17 PP, you need at least 6 remaining when you're done)
3) You: Manifest Bestow Power on yourself, augmented as high as you dare (Giving yourself X*2/3 power points, costing you X power points - in the minimal example, you spend all 6 PP, to give yourself 4), and sharing it with your Fissioned duplicate (so 4 PP to you, 4 PP to your duplicate).
Fissioned Duplicate: Manifests Bestow Power on you, to the maximum it can without damaging itself, which is shared back by Affinity Field (it'll have at least 27 Power Points at this point, but could have a manifester level as low as 15, which we'll assume for here). So it spends 15 power points to give you 10, and itself 10 through Affinity field.
This round, you have spent 6 power points, and gone up by 14; your duplicate has spent 15 power points, and gone up by 14.
4) You: Manifest Bestow Power on yourself, augmented as high as you dare (you should have a minimum of 14 power points at this point - Spend 12 on Bestow Power, and you have 2, but gain 8 - for a total of 10... and 8 of those are also given to your duplicate.
Your Duplicate: Manifest Bestow Power on you (max of 15 points spent, ten for you, ten for your duplicate back through affinity field).
At this step, you've lost 12 power points, and gained back 18, for a six-point gain.
5) Go To 4 until either Fission or the Affinity Field expire.
6) After a few rounds, you'll have fully paid off your power point expenditure. Oh yes, and when you merge with your duplicate, you get all of it's power points as well - and it's power point total has been going up, too.

Note: Some DM's will read a particular line in Fission, and decide this doesn't work. If your DM does that, just make sure there's another party member with a manifester level of 6 or higher in the party that knows Bestow Power. This manifester takes the place of your Fissioned duplicate... and can actually make the effect slightly more efficient. It's less cool, though.


Tiny von BigMcLargeHuge-
I link this because it's a cool build and a hilarious idea. As far as I know, Tiny von BigMcLargeHuge relies on house rules to work.
Tiny von BigMcLargeHuge (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132294)

The Fistfull of Manifester Arrows-
The Bundle of Manifester Arrows capitalizes on the fact that arrows are enchanted in groups of 50, and the Manifester quality can be read to supply 5PP per arrow.
Powers:
Feats:
GP: 18,302.5GP
Method:
1. Have 50 arrows enchanted as +1 Manifester Arrows
2. Gain +5PP per arrow, for the price of a +1 Manifester Longsword (which would only provide +5PP)
3. ???
4. Profit

The Psionic Sandwich-
The Psionic Sandwich (http://thestormwindfallacy.multiply.com/journal/item/76) was an attempt to build the most optimized useless character possible, back on 339. The nice thing about this trick is that Tleilaxu_Ghola found a way to effectively get a True Mindswitch without paying the 10,000XP cost.

The Masochistic Crystal Trick-
The Masochistic Crystal Trick is an old standby for psionic characters. It uses Share Pain, Vigor, and Psicrystal Affinity to grant you twice the number of temporary hit points that Vigor grants you.
Powers: Share Pain, Vigor
Feats: Psicrystal Affinity
Method:
1. Manifest Vigor, sharing it with your Psicrystal
2. Manifest Share Pain, sharing it with your Psicrystal
Minimum Level: 3

The Psionic Dreadnought-
The Psionic Dreadnought uses Affinity Field, two (or more) 3rd level (or higher) thralls or followers, Bestow Power, Telekinetic Sphere, Solicit Psicrystal, and Burrowing Power to become the psionic equivalent of the USS Iowa.
Powers: Affinity Field, Bestow Power, Telekinetic Sphere, Solicit Psicrystal
Feats: Burrowing Power, Leadership
Classes: Thrallherd
Method:
1. Acquire followers or thralls
2. Manifest Telekinetic Sphere, surrounding yourself and your minions
3. Manifest Affinity Field
4. Manifest, using Burrowing Power, through your Telekinetic Sphere (Psicraft DC 31), raining death upon your enemies
5. Have your minions manifest Bestow Power on you, netting them 1 PP each (2 per manifestation, shared by Affinity Field) and you 4 PP
Minimum Level: 17


ACMA and ACME-
The Astral Construct Mega Armor and Astral Construct Mobile Entrapment work by encasing a character in an Astral Construct, either to grant said character bonuses (ACMA) or to trap them inside it (ACME). They both may be found here (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10279.0).

The Carmen San Diego Trick-
The Carmen San Diego Trick uses Remote Viewing and Retrieve to approximate the thieving prowess of our favorite Red-Trenchcoat-and-Hatted-Globe-Trotting-Thief. It requires Overchannel or similar ability (or cost reducers) to pull off pre-epic. Because Remote Viewing allows you to "See" the target, you do not need to manifest through it in order for this trick to work. You must, however, be within Retrieve range of the target. Red Hat and Trenchcoat are optional.
Powers: Retrieve, Remote Viewing
Feats: Overchannel
Method:
1. Manifest Remote Viewing on the target object (or a target within 30 feet of the object)
2. Manifest Retrieve on the target object
Minimum Level: 13

The Psionic Last Breath Trick-
The Psionic Last Breath trick allows you to preserve a fallen comrade to be raised for the cost of 200+ XP, rather than the sometimes prohibitive sum of 5000GP in Diamonds.
Powers:Time Hop, Psionic Revivify, Quintessence
Feats:
Method:
1. Either cover your fallen comrade's body in Quintessence or manifest Time Hop on their corpse (an object)
2. Either bring the body (covered in Quintessence) to the Revivifie or bring the Revivifier to the place where the corpse will appear (after Time Hop runs its course)
3. Manifest Psionic Revivify on the corpse
Minimum Level: 9

Do the Wight Thing-
To Do the Wight Thing, one must have a critter under their control who can apply one negative level (such as a Wight, but anything that can apply one negative level at a time, with a type of negative level that will convert to real level loss, will do) and Psionic Restoration to generate 'free' XP. This can be done as soon as level 11 if one has a Ring of Spell Storing (which should also store powers, due to transparency).
Powers: Psionic Restoration
Feats:
Critters: 1 Wight or Similar
Items: 1 Ring of Spell Storing
Method:

1. Store Psionic Restoration in the Ring of Spell Storing
2. Have the critter hit you with one negative level
3. Wait until the time rolls around for the Fort save on that negative level, and voluntarily fail it, converting it to real level loss, setting your XP to halfway between the level you were and the level before (e.g., if you were level 12, and got drained to 11th, you're halfway between 11th and 12th - 60,500 xp, which is 5,500 xp in excess of 11th).
4. Spend your newly-unlocked XP however you like (5,500 xp, for the character who starts this as a 12th level Egoist) - but watch the time limit!
5. Before the time limit expires (1 day per manifester level), use Psionic Restoration to wipe away the level loss, which brings you "up to the minimum number of experience points necessary to advance it to the next higher level".

Minimum Level: 11 (With Ring of Spell Storing, otherwise 12)

The Feat Battery Trick-
The Feat Battery Trick uses your Psicrystal (or Psionic Cohort/Thrall) as a source of extra feats, shared with you via the Feat Leach Power. This can grant you access to extra psionic or metapsionic feats.
Powers: Feat Leach, Psychic Reformation (not necessary but beneficial)
Feats: (A Psicrystal requires Wild Talent or Hidden Talent, you'll also need to give the Battery whatever feats you want to get)
Method:
1. You manifest Feat Leach on the 'Battery'
2. The 'Battery' voluntarily fails its Will Save
3. You gain up to your Wis mod in bonus feats
Minimum Level: 3
Note: A list of useful feats can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9925072&postcount=56)

Garryl's Casual Disconcern for the Action Economy-

Garryl came up with this trick, which is yet another way for psychics (in this case, Ardents) to tell the Action Economy to shut up and sit down.

Doable as early as Ardent 10.
Requires: Ardent 10, Dominant Ideal ACF, Substitute Powers ACF, Time mantle, Synchronicity power, Linked Power feat.
Optional: Bestow Power power, Metapower feat.

With Dominant Ideal (set to Time Mantle), you spend 2 PP less (minimum 1 PP) and do not expend your psionic focus when using metapsionic feats or augmentations on powers from the chosen mantle. With Substitute Powers, you can put Synchronicity into the Time mantle. Thus, you can spend 1 PP to manifest Synchronicity linked to Synchronicity, which does not cost you any actions effectively, and grants you an extra standard action in the next round. Since you haven't expended your psionic focus, you can do this again (manifesting the power using the standard action granted by the first Synchronicity) to get as many extra actions as you want in the next round at the cost of 1 PP per action.

The option for the recharge comes when you link Synchronicity to Bestow Power. For 1 PP (base 4 PP, reduced by 4 between Metapower and Dominant Ideal), you gain 2 PP next round at no effective action cost to you. Thus, the amount of PP you can have access to increases at an exponential rate, close to doubling every round. Even if your DM rules that you can't have more PP in your pool at once than your normal maximum, you can still "float" the excess PP from round to round using the automatically readied standard actions granted by a linked Synchronicity manifested from the previous round.


Nijineko's Steal Steel-
Synopsis: To store one's body in a time-stopped state, but allowing one's mind to be free from the body and able to act.

Process overview: Separate the mind from the body. Preserve the body. Store the body. House the mind so that it is free to act.

Pros: Able to inhabit any edged metal (host) weapon within a certain radius at will. Able to exist for a few rounds outside of a "host". Can be affected only by a very limited list of effects; for example: effectively immune to all physical and energy damage. Body is immune to at least one (or two) rounds of damage, regardless of type. Effectively disguised as a minor magic item.

Cons: Complex requirements-limited entry. Requires daily (or more frequently, depending on character level) power point expenditure to survive. Cannot benefit from magic items, except for weapon crystals. (which fact went a long way towards placating my dm.) Can still be affected by mental and death effects. True seeing reveals that you are not a minor magic item.

Preparation:
Two to five feat slots filled with Expanded Knowledge Feat (manifester level 3rd).
Glove of storage (2,500 gp) or similar psionic item.
Psychic Reformation power (psion/wilder 4th level power, manifester level 7).
Compression power (psychic warrior 1st level power, manifester level 1-via expanded knowledge feat).
Crystalize power (shaper 6th level power, manifester level 11, must be shaper or use another expanded knowledge feat.)
Quintessence (shaper 4th level power, manifester level 7, must be shaper or use another epanded knowledge feat.)
Steal Steel (psion 5th level power, manifester level 9, unique power-via expanded knowledge feat)
Sufficient ranks of Autohypnosis to set up an unconscious hypnotic command.
Delay power feat if there is any question about the timing of the sequence of events.
Construct body feat or animate object power to activate the glove of storage.
Ring of sustenance to offset any minor quibbles of survivability, especially if the quintessence is canceled.

step one: compression (requires psychic reformation, and exp. know. feat)
this will reduce her weight to below the glove's limit, if augmented for double
reduction.
step two: steal steel. (unique power, must be obtained from dragon in the forgotten
realms setting, or by dm permission/arrangement/fiat. )
this will allow her to escape her body and inhabit an edged weapon.
step three: crystalize.
this will preserve her reduced body and its life functions.
step four: use quintessence on the crystalized body.
this will timestop the duration of all non-permanent effects on her. it will also
serve as a measure of protection against damage, as if the glove is
destroyed, the violence of the gloves destruction would neutralize the
quintessence but leave enclosed items undamaged... till next round.
step five: use glove of storage on the compressed crystalized body.
if there is a question of activation, use psychic reformation to acquire
construct body feat, to wear a construct form long enough to active the glove.
step six: use quintessence on the glove.
this will time stop the duration of all non-permanent effects on her. it will also
serve as a measure of protection against damage, as if the dagger is
destroyed, the violence of the daggers destruction would neutralize the
quintessence but leave enclosed items undamaged... till next round.
step seven: store glove in the handle of the dagger.

since shrink cannot be used on a 'magic item', and crystalize results in a 'magic item', this route will allow the character to exist in the dagger. have the quintessence prepared ahead of time.



Steelsteal
Psychoportation (Dex)
Level: Psion 5
Display: None
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 hour/level or until you return to your body (D) (see text)
Power Points: 9

You free your spirit from your body, allowing you to travel as an incorporeal creature and inhabit metallic blades (such as daggers, swords, and so on). While incorporeal, you cannot make attacks or use any abilities, but you can fly at speed 30 (perfect). You do not carry any equipment with you but gain a deflection bonus to AC equal to your Charisma bonus. You can remain incorporeal for up to 3 rounds in succession, after which the power ends and your spirit returns to its body. When incorporeal, you are affected by spells and powers that ward or harm such disembodied spirits or possession attempts, such as magic circle against evil, which prevents you from entering or attempting to possess any blade within the area.

While incorporeal, you can overlap a metallic blade with your incorporeal form and enter it fully. While "possessing" the blade in this manner, you can see, hear, and feel as well as a normal human. You can speak and use any powers or abilities you have that don't require somatic or material components (therefore psionic abilities function normally). You cannot move the blade unless you have magic or psionics that allow you to move objects (such as far hand, skate, or telekinesis). You can remain within a blade indefinitely, subject to the duration of the power. As a standard action you can vacate the blade and become incorporeal again, or transfer directly between two blades in physical contact at the time. A blade possessed by you can bypass damage reduction as if it had a +2 enhancement bonus, but it does not gain any bonuses to hit or damage. Damaging the blade causes you no harm, and destroying it merely returns you to your incorporeal form. At any time you can end the power as a standard action and immediately return to your body.

If you attempt to possess an intelligent blade, the blade resists and you must attempt a Will saving throw (DC = item's ego). Success means you possess the blade and can use its abilities in addition to your own (so if the weapon could teleport once per day, you could activate that ability and teleport yourself and the blade to your choice of locations). Failure means you possess the blade but cannot use its abilities or any of your own (you are essentially a passenger), although you can still leave the blade normally.

Your body remains behind, unconscious. Effects on your body (such as poison, disease, and so on) continue while you are away, and because your body is still alive, it still needs air, water, and food. If your body is killed, you die.

Note: Another possible DM fiat, but the autohypnosis power could be used to self-program to auto expend the pp on the steal steel power. so long as one does not drop down below the minimum pp required to manifest it for 24+ hours.... I believe that there are other methods to get into an object more or less permanently, but this is one of the lowest level ones I can find.

Also note the unusual level-based duration. This article was published in June 2003, one month before the 3.5 phb was released, and a year or so before the exp psi was released... so this is definitely a 3.0 power.

Suck it Wizards, (Su) Psi and You-
Disclaimer!!! This trick is verging on T.O. /Disclaimer!!! Ok, with that out of the way, this is one beautiful trick. You see, according to the SRD:

Psi-Like Abilities (Ps)
The manifestation of powers by a psionic character is considered a psi-like ability
And...

Psi-Like Abilities And Feats
Creatures with access to psi-like abilities can use the feats Empower Spell-Like Ability and Quicken Spell-Like Ability.
Which means that your manifesting is a valid target for feats which effect Spell-Like Abilities. Like, say, Supernatural Transformation (http://www.realmshelps.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Supernatural_Transformation). Now, the benefits of making your manifesting into an (Su) power are manifold - they are no longer subject to Dispell Magic/Psionics, they are no longer effected by PR/SR, and the big one, they no longer have an XP cost to manifest. Now, the Sage has said that Supernatural Transformation does not apply to class based abilities, as it says "Innate Spell-Like Ability" in the feat description. However, this is not RAW and it could be argued that Psionic ability is in fact innate - to quote the SRD:

Powers And Power Points
Psionic characters manifest powers, which involve the direct manipulation of personal mental energy. These manipulations require natural talent and personal meditation.
So, if you take Supernatural Transformation and apply it to your manifesting, you gain a host of benefits. Sprinkle in Spell-to-Power Erudite to taste and you've got one wicked character.
Powers:
Feats: Supernatural Transformation
Method:
Take Supernatural Transformation, apply directly to Manifesting
Dodge DMG, XPH, Boot, etc. to the head (And one for Jenny and the wimp)
???
Profit
Minimum Level: 1

Power Surge-
You will need:

- Wild Surge +3 or Font of Power
- Bestow Power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/bestowPower.htm)
- [recommended] A Torc of PP Preservation
- [optional] A psionic cohort or party member

Summary
This tricks lets you generate infinite power points - either to recharge your own reserve or someone else's. As a Metamind, your ability to do this is more limited and comes online much later, but is also more reliable.

Method
As a Wilder:
1) Manifest Bestow Power, targeting yourself.
2) Wild Surge +3, paying for one augmentation.
3) If successful, you will have spent 3 points and gained 4, before any PP reduction e.g. Torc of PP or Earth Power.
4) Repeat as needed to refill your PP reserve. (but see "Psychic Enervation" below.)

As a Metamind:
1) Pour all your remaining PP into cognizance crystals, or Bestow it to your party members when they run low.
2) Activate Font of Power
3) Manifest Bestow Power, targeting whoever needs it (starting with you), augmented as high as you can.
4) Repeat (3) until everyone is recharged or FoP ends ten rounds later.

Special: Place an Affinity Field on yourself, and you can refill your own reserve and that of the entire party simultaneously.

Sidebar: Psychic Enervation
The Wild Surge method can be done earlier (level 7) but carries with it the risk of psychic enervation - the chance that your attempt to recharge is cancelled out by all the PP you lose. We can use the mean probability formula to determine how many PP this trick will gain you on average.

If you Wild Surge +3, your chance of enervation is 15%, or 0.15. If you enervate, you will lose PP = to your wilder level. Therefore, at level 7, the outcome will be:

(net PP gained w/o enervation)(chance of success) + (net PP lost w/ enervation)(chance of failure)

= (1)(0.85) + (-6)(0.15) = -0.05 before PP reduction. (On average you gain nothing, and actually end up worse off if you do this 20 or more times.)

With PP reduction = 1 it becomes:
= (2)(0.85) + (-5)(0.15) = +0.95, now on average you gain PP.
With PP reduction >= 2 you no longer need Wild Surge and can instead just Bestow Power yourself directly with no chance of failure.

This is why PP reduction helps the trick work reliably, but you can still refill others without it - the PP you lose from enervating won't be taken from their total.


Suicide (A Do the Wight Thing Variant)-
This fuctions as normal for "Do the Wight Thing", but instead of using a Wight or some other level-draining critter, you use Fission (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/fission.htm), and kill your duplicate - giving you a negative level, which you leave until it becomes real level loss. Then continue with Do the Wight Thing as normal

Diamonds are Forever-

Diamonds are Forever is a method to truly, really, permanently change your form. This requires you really, really lose a level (Restoration won't help), as it's by death. But the way it works is as follows:
1) Get the form with abilities you want (whether that's by Mind Switch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/mindSwitch.htm), Metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm), or any other method.
2) While in said form, manifest Astral Seed (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/astralSeed.htm)
3) Let the method of switching forms expire.
4) Kill yourself.
5) Make a new body from your astral seed - which is "a living, breathing body that is an exact duplicate of your body at the time you manifested astral seed (the crystal itself breaks down and becomes a part of the new organic body). When the tenth day ends, you completely and totally inhabit the new body. You possess all the abilities you possessed when astral seed was manifested, at one level lower, but you have none of your equipment."

Congrats - it cost you a level, but hey: Instant change of shape. If you're an Egoist-17 with Greater Metamorphosis, this lets you get Supernatural abilities, too.


Shards of Leadership-
This trick uses nested leadership to effectively grant a 17th (or higher) level Cohort to a 2nd level character.
Powers:
Feats: Psicrystal Affinity, Improved Psicrystal, Leadership
Method:[list]
Take Psicrystal Affinity and Improved Psicrystal until your Psicrystal has 6HD
Have your Psicrystal take Leadership and pick a level 4 Human Psion as its Cohort
Have your Psicrystal's Cohort repeat step 1 until his/her Psicrystal has 7HD
Have your Psicrystal's Cohort's Psicrystal take Leadership and choose a 5th level Human Psion (with at least 12 Charisma) who repeats step one to attract an 8HD Psicrystal
Repeat previous steps until a Psion Cohort of 17th level is attracted
Minimum Level: 2 (Human with two flaws)

Frickin' Laser Beams-
Use energy conversion, a psicrystal (with metamorphosis to remove immunity to mind-affecting effects), schism, Chain Power, Split Psionic Ray, Overchannel, Greater/Psionic Shot, and Aligned Attack/a chasuble of fell power, along with energy wall to charge it up, to deal up to (8x[ML+3]x3)+7d6 damage (and half damage to tons of secondary creatures) every single round, and all for the cost of one energy conversion and one energy wall (both manifested beforehand) and a schism (a psychoactive skin can take care of the metamorphosis bit).

Erudite Concerto-

This trick lets level 9+ Erudites circumvent their UPD limitation..

You will need:
- A Psicrystal with Wild/Hidden Talent, or a psionic cohort
- Metaconcert (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metaconcert.htm)

Method:
1) Manifest Metaconcert, targeting yourself and your friend/pet rock.
2) Use the entity created to manifest any utility powers you need.

Because the entity manifests the powers, and knows every power you know, you are able to access your entire library without adding to your UPD count - you are not actually manifesting them.

It is unclear whether the entity gets its own set of actions or must use those of the conductor. If the latter, simply make your psicrystal the conductor so that you can keep manifesting as needed.

Notes:
1) This can only be done solo if your psicrystal gets feats (they are not psionic by default, but Wild Talent makes them that way.) This is RAW, but some DMs do not like this. Without it, you will need a cohort or party member.
2) This is not always suitable for combat. Metaconcert takes a minute to cast (10 rounds) and only lasts minutes/level, so ideally you will already be in one when a fight starts if you need your repertoire that much.
3) You can get around the movement speed reduction; RAW it only applies "if you move as a group." So tell your psicrystal not to move, put it in your pocket, and move as normal.


Siege Mode (A Corollary to the Psionic Dreadnaught)-

By the combination of the Mad Minute trick and the Psionic Dreadnought, the Dread may enter into "Siege Mode," by which the character may continue to manifest any power they choose (so long as it may be manifested with a standard action), and their followers may continue manifesting Bestow Power, as their Fission's Synchronicity is shared by the Affinity Field. As this power allows an arbitrarily large number of standard actions (and therefore HP damage or other such effects), I contend this particular trick is Theoretical Optimization, and therefore generally inappropriate for most games.


So, if you've got any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Also, I'm not sure that the MoI Recharge Trick or the Move by Wire trick work, though, so if they don't let me know. And if you can think of a way to make them work, even better. The MoI recharge trick and Move by Wire work, or at least so I have been told.

Acknowledgements
The MoI Recharge Trick is the work of another (Does anyone know whom?)
The Meditation Hustle is the work of Psyren, here on GitP
The Mad Minute is the work of Jack_Simth, here on GitP
The Move by Wire trick is my own
The Save Game Trick and Psionic Sandwich are the work of Tleilaxu_Ghola
The Masochistic Crystal Trick is the work of another
The Psionic Dreadnought is the work of Emo_Duck
Thanks to Stegyre for explaining the MoI Recharge Trick to me
ACMA and ACME are the work of Endarire
The Carmen San Diego Trick is the work of jameswilliamogle
The Psionic Last Breath Trick is the work of Psyren
The Do the Wight Thing Trick is the work of Jack_Simth
The Feat Battery Trick is the work of another (possibly Lycanthromancer?)
Garryl's Casual Disconcern for the Action Economy is the work, fittingly enough, of Garryl
Nijineko's Steal Steel is the work of Nijineko
Suck it Wizards, (Su) Psi and You is the work of Lycanthromancer
Power Surge is the work of Psyren
Suicide is the work of Jack_Simth
Diamonds are Forever is the work of Jack_Simth
Shards of Leadership is the work of Godskook
Frickin' Laser Beams is the work of Lycanthromancer
Erudite Concerto is the work of Psyren
A Fistful of Manifester Arrows is the work of Lycanthromancer
Siege Mode is my own

Changelog
1 December 2010 - Changed Move by Wire to include Solicit Psicrystal.
1 December 2010 - Added the Save Game trick.
1 December 2010 - Added The Embrace of Mother Earth.
1 December 2010 - Added You Squared.
1 December 2010 - Added The Fistful of Manifester Arrows
1 December 2010 - Changed The Embrace of Mother Earth to remove the 'Racial Requirements' line
1 December 2010 - Added the GP Cost of The Fistful of Manifester Arrows
1 December 2010 - Added Tleilaxu_Ghola's Psionic Sandwich
2 December 2010 - Added The Masochistic Crystal trick
3 December 2010 - Added the Psionic Dreadnought
3 December 2010 - Fixed the MoI Recharge Trick
3 December 2010 - Added ACMA and ACME
4 December 2010 - Added the Carmen San Diego Trick
7 December 2010 - Added the Psionic Last Breath Trick
8 December 2010 - Added the Do the Wight Thing Trick
9 December 2010 - Added the Feat Battery Trick
16 December 2010 - Added Garryl's Casual Disconcern for the Action Economy
26 December 2010 - Added Nijineko's Steal Steel Trick
27 December 2010 - Added Suck it Wizards, (Su) Psi and You
8 January 2011 - Added Power Surge
9 January 2011 - Added Suicide
9 January 2011 - Added Diamonds are Forever
9 January 2011 - Added Shards of Leadership
9 January 2011 - Added Frickin' Laser Beams
20 January 2011 - Added Erudite Concerto
16 February 2011 - Added source on A Fistful of Manifester Arrows
8 January 2014 - Added Siege Mode

[Psyren]

A handbook like this would definitely need the Save Game Trick. I'll see if I can track it down.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

A handbook like this would definitely need the Save Game Trick. I'll see if I can track it down.

That would be the Final Fantasy Save Crystal trick? I've heard of it, but never seen it explained.

[Psyren]

That would be the Final Fantasy Save Crystal trick? I've heard of it, but never seen it explained.

I never heard the "Final Fantasy" part applied to it - it's just a save game, as in "we died, so let's reload to before we died and try again."

Anyway, I found it, so here it is :smallsmile:

The Save State Psion 1.0
By Tleilaxu_Ghola

The Simple Summary
This trick works by abusing time hop to send your psicrystal days forward in time, and forced dream (Magic of Eberron 104), which will return him back in time to the moment you manifested time hop. Doing so will undo whatever caused your party to wipe, because the psicrystal's Dream began before you time hopped it. (Presumably while you were all alive and kicking.)

There's a couple of other things you'll need to make it work, below:

Abstract
With this trick one is able to create "save" game points, with a minimal cost of 15 XP for psionic contingency. The trick allows one to adventure for a day and then reload the save game point if something went awry.

Ingredients:
Forced Dream (Magic of Eberron 104)
Anticipatory Strike (Complete Psionic 78)
Time Hop (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHop.htm) (Mass version (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHopMass.htm) lasts longer, for a full day of adventuring)
Psionic Contingency (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHopMass.htm)
A Psicrystal
Status (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/status.htm)
Imbue with Spell Ability (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/imbuewithspellability.htm)
Metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm) - needed if your DM ignores Player's Handbook 177 that states a creature can suppress racial resistances/immunities to magic.
Sending Stones [Optional magic item] (Complete Arcane 150, 15K per linked pair)

Forced Dream: Psion/Wilder 3
[Paraphrased]
Any time during the 1 round/level duration (or minutes per level with 4 pp augment), you can spend a swift action to restart your turn. As forced dream says, "When this effect is used, everyone and everything is reset to the state they were at when the subject's turn began. Any spells or abilities used are available again, any damage dealt is healed , any effects incurred are negated, any objects or creatures moved are reset to their original position, and so on. The only exception to this is that any power points spent to manifest forced dream are not recovered..." Forced dream ends when the swift action to do this is expended or when the duration expired.

The Trick
Manifest psionic contingency on your psicrystal placing a contingent ancipatory strike on him contingent on the event: returns to the normal time stream from a time hop.

If desired, share metamorphosis with your psicrystal to transform him into something that isn't immune to mind-affecting compulsions. Heck you could transform him into an object of any size if you wish. (Player's Handbook 177 states a creature can suppress racial resistances and immunities to magical/psionic effects, meaning metamorphosis is just for show.) Have the party Cleric use imbue with spell ability on the psicrsytal so that it can use the spell status. (A Spell to Power Erudite, Cerebremancer, Psychic Theurge or someone with an item can cast status himself.) Mix with affinity field if you wish the psicrystal to have knowledge of all party members' condition, though this requires a level 9 (!) power.

The psicrystal casts status on you or whatever party member you choose. This person's condition will determine whether or not the save state will be reloaded, so choose carefully. NOTE: Status will NOT work across planes! Be careful!

Manifest forced dream on your psicrystal at some time before you fear harm will befall you. Ready a standard action to manifest a contingent time hop on your party (+2PP per target) when the psicrystal moves. Tell the psicrystal to do so, advancing him hours / level ahead in time. With enough ML you can advance your psicrystal nearly a day. Adventure on your merry way, whilst your psicrystal is outside the time stream.

If your party succumbs to a TOTAL PARTY KILL, your psicrystal will still be alive and kicking the next day. No time will pass for him and when he comes out of the time hop and the contingency will grant him sufficient actions to check the status of the party, provided they are on the same plane as the psicrystal. (If on another plane, there's a 5% chance of failure.) The psicrystal may also use a Sending Stone to ask whether his master would like to reload or not. If the party member is under a certain condition or if the master tells the crystal to, the save state is reloaded as the psicrystal spends a swift action to return to the beginning of his turn, which began with you manifesting time hop on him right before he started moving. You may now retry whatever you failed to accomplish.

[Jack_Simth]

Oh, and don't forget the other two recharge tricks I'm familiar with:

The Embrace of Mother Earth
Minimum Level: 3 (if you ignore WBL)

You need:
1) Torc of Power Preservation (the more expensive one in the Expanded Psionic Handbook - NOT the cheaper one in the Magic Item Compendium)
2) Earth Power (and it's requirement, Earth Sense - oh yes, and this also requires one of a few races: Both in Races of Stone).
3) Bestow Power
4) At least one remaining power point (you could use Body Fuel, but that's a bad idea)
5) Natural stone to stand on

Method:
1) Psionically Focus Yourself (requirement for use of Earth Power)
2) Stand on the natural stone (requirement for use of Earth Power)
3) Manifest Bestow Power on yourself, do NOT augment it.
4) Repeat until full of power points.

What happens? Well, Bestow Power costs 3 points to manifest, and bestows two on the target (you). Earth Power reduces the cost by 1. The Torc of Power Preservation reduces the cost by 1. So you bestow yourself 2 power points at the cost of 1 power point.
You^2
Minimum Level: 17

You need:
1) Affinity Field
2) Bestow Power
3) At least 59 remaining Power Points
4) Fission (or another Psion with Bestow Power, but Fission is doing it with Style)

Method:
1) Manifest Fission (which costs 13 PP, and cuts your remaining power points in half - you'll need at least 23 remaining after that)
2) Manifest Affinity Field (Cost: 17 PP, you need at least 6 remaining when you're done)
3) You: Manifest Bestow Power on yourself, augmented as high as you dare (Giving yourself X*2/3 power points, costing you X power points - in the minimal example, you spend all 6 PP, to give yourself 4), and sharing it with your Fissioned duplicate (so 4 PP to you, 4 PP to your duplicate).
Fissioned Duplicate: Manifests Bestow Power on you, to the maximum it can without damaging itself, which is shared back by Affinity Field (it'll have at least 27 Power Points at this point, but could have a manifester level as low as 15, which we'll assume for here). So it spends 15 power points to give you 10, and itself 10 through Affinity field.
This round, you have spent 6 power points, and gone up by 14; your duplicate has spent 15 power points, and gone up by 14.
4) You: Manifest Bestow Power on yourself, augmented as high as you dare (you should have a minimum of 14 power points at this point - Spend 12 on Bestow Power, and you have 2, but gain 8 - for a total of 10... and 8 of those are also given to your duplicate.
Your Duplicate: Manifest Bestow Power on you (max of 15 points spent, ten for you, ten for your duplicate back through affinity field).
At this step, you've lost 12 power points, and gained back 18, for a six-point gain.
5) Go To 4 until either Fission or the Affinity Field expire.
6) After a few rounds, you'll have fully paid off your power point expenditure. Oh yes, and when you merge with your duplicate, you get all of it's power points as well - and it's power point total has been going up, too.

Note: Some DM's will read a particular line in Fission, and decide this doesn't work. If your DM does that, just make sure there's another party member with a manifester level of 6 or higher in the party that knows Bestow Power. This manifester takes the place of your Fissioned duplicate... and can actually make the effect slightly more efficient. It's less cool, though.

[Psyren]

Here's a neat trick with Earth Power - put dirt in your shoes. Now you can wear boots and get the benefits.

This poster takes no responsibility for thrown DMGs

[Crow]

For move-by-wire, you're forgetting to manifest Solicit Psicrystal.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Fixed Move by Wire, I'll add the Save Game trick, The Embrace of Mother Earth, and You Squared tomorrow, along with some stuff from the BG thread.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Added Tiny von BigMcLargeHuge and The Fistfull of Manifester Arrows. I'm currently trying to figure out how Eberron's Power Link Shards work, so I can add them too. Keep the ideas coming!

[Psyren]

Psionic Sandwich (http://thestormwindfallacy.multiply.com/journal/item/76)

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Wasn't that an attempt at building the most optimized useless character possible?

[Psyren]

Wasn't that an attempt at building the most optimized useless character possible?

Yes. However, underneath the silliness is a glimmer of the trick's real genius - a way to True Mind Switch without paying 10,000 XP.

The key is for your target to not start out as a living thing - it therefore cannot "die" - and when Mind Switch ends, neither will you. This is why smashing your crystal carries no penalties - when you do so, it has the mind of a sandwich.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

I've got another trick I'd like to add, but I would like to see if there are any other sub-tricks to this one. I'm tentatively calling it The Loose Limits of Linked Power, but if you can come up with a better name, I'll use it.

The Loose Limits of Linked Power-
Linked Power is a wonderful Metapsionic Feat. In addition to helping you break the action economy, it has uses for cost/time reduction.
Powers:
Feats: Linked Power
Method: By choosing a power with an XP cost or high manifesting time as the second power in the link, you avoid those costs, as you only have to pay the increased PP cost for Linked Power, and the power explicitly comes into effect in the next round. Thus, by manifesting Force Screen (or any other first level power) linked to Reality Revision you avoid the 5,000 XP cost. If you manifest Force Screen (or any other first level power) linked to Remote Viewing you avoid the latter's 1 hour manifesting time.
Minimum Level: 2

Any other tricks you can do with Linked Power? Any better name ideas?

[Psyren]

I don't read Linked Power that way. The feat mentions manifesting both powers, not manifesting one and just adding the cost of the other.

Metapower is the obvious combo with LP - if there's a power you link a lot (say, Hustle) then Metapower will make it cheaper to do so repeatedly. Combine with Earth Power, Torc of PPr etc. and you can reap some nice discounts over time. Unike EP and ToPP, Metapower can reduce the extra PP cost of a power to zero.

Metapower can also be taken multiple times for the same power; This lets you apply costly metapsionics to high-level powers at the cost of feats. (Handy for E6 perhaps?)

As for tricks, here's a straightforward one - Heat Death Spam.


Heat Death (Ps)

A pyrokineticist who reaches 9th level can expend her psionic focus and take a full attack action to raise the internal temperature of one living creature within 30 feet to lethal levels. The target must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw (DC 14 + pyro’s Cha modifier) or die horrifically as its blood (or other internal fluid) boils. Even on a successful save, the target takes 4d8 points of fire damage from the heat.

There are two tricks here. One, this is a spammable SoD - there is no use limit on Heat Death, you can just keep regaining your focus and taking full attack actions. Even an epic monster will roll a nat 1 eventually.

Two, the death effect itself has no element type - only the damage does. So by RAW, you can Heat Death a red dragon since they have bodily fluids. (you couldn't kill it with the damage from a successful save of course.) If your DM rules otherwise, just switch elements using the Mind's Eye variants - how many guys are immune to sonic?

It's not even a death effect, so death ward, being undead (unless you lack fluids) etc. won't save you.

[FMArthur]

1) Torc of Power Preservation (the more expensive one in the Expanded Psionic Handbook - NOT the cheaper one in the Magic Item Compendium)

Too bad. The MIC versions of items are revisions, not variants or homonyms. Even in cases where the new effect only barely resembles the old (which is not the case here at all). The "Embrace of Mother Earth" trick works 5 times a day per Torc. Not like you really need it to work when you can Linked Power+Metapower the same combo with only two Metapowers.

[Psyren]

Too bad. The MIC versions of items are revisions, not variants or homonyms. Even in cases where the new effect only barely resembles the old (which is not the case here at all). The "Embrace of Mother Earth" trick works 5 times a day per Torc.

That holds true if your playgroup has access to MIC. If it doesn't, you can't very well ask online for non-OGL text just because you feel that it is the most up-to-date wording available. Meanwhile, the XPH Torc is freely available in the SRD.

Updated or not, it's a safe bet the XPH Torc will continue to see play.

[Stegyre]

MoI Recharge Trick has multiple variants. Here is what I think is most efficient and low level.

Step 1. Metapower, Linked Power, and a 1st level power. Use Metapower to permanently join Linked Power to your choice of self-targeting 1st level power. (Precognition is my personal favorite.) Now, every time you manifest Precognition (or whatever) + Link Power + Bestow Power, you pay 2 pp in turn 1 (1 for Precognition + 3 for Bestow Power -2 for Metapower), and regain those 2 pp in turn 2. Whee! A free 1st level power. (Requires two feats (Metapower, Linked Power) a 1st and 2nd level power and ML 3; possible by character level 3.)

Step 2. Add any means of reducing augmentation cost by one point. Options include Torc of Power Preservation (limited uses, as amended by MIC), Earth Power, Midnight Augmentation, or (for Ardents) Dominant Ideal. Dominant Ideal is hands down the best in every way, but only available to one class and not available until 10th level in that class. Torc has limited uses. The least expensive feat investment is Midnight Augmentation (requires Midnight Augmentation + Psicrystal Affinity + Psicrystal Containment):

Midnight Augmentation grants 1 essentia, which is the maximum we can invest in a 1st level power anyway, and all that we need. (This moots the need for Psycarnum Infusion.) Select Precognition as your augmented power, and manifest as per Step 1, but now discharge the second focus (from the Psicrystal) to activate Midnight Augmentation. Because players may apply modifiers in the order they prefer, we take the total power cost (4), subtract 1 for Midnight Augmentation (which can only reduce augmentation costs to a minimum of +1), and then subtract 2 more for Metapower (which can reduce augmentation costs to 0).

Now, we are paying 1 pp to manifest Precognition in turn 1 and getting back 2 pp in turn 2 when Bestow Power manifests.

This routine may only be done every third turn. The two intervening turns are required to regain the two foci. But what does it matter? There is no expiration on the pp granted. Instead of resting for 8 hours, our psionic spends 1 hour (600 rounds, so 200 iterations) playing this game and has 200 pp.

Earliest possible level: we've added 3 feats since Step 1, so a human with two flaws could still do this by character level 3.

(Disclaimer: imo, infinite power loops are per se bannable, but RAW permits this. That's just evidence of very poorly written RAW. RAW should have included a simple disclaimer that the cost of Bestow Power may not be reduced by any means, as it is the actual transfer of power points from one creature to another, and does not -- and cannot -- create pp.)

[Stegyre]

Metapower can also be taken multiple times for the same power; This lets you apply costly metapsionics to high-level powers at the cost of feats. (Handy for E6 perhaps?)
While metapower can be applied multiple times, it expressly doesn't negate the expend-focus requirement for metapsionics, so practically, you can only ever get away with two metas, using the extra focus from your psicrystal.

The one exception is Dominant Ideal, which to my knowledge is the only source to negate the expend-focus requirement. I'm not sure whether to be grateful or sad that isn't available in E6.

[Keld Denar]

Grip of Iron is a 1st level power. Its an IMMEDIATE action to activate. My PsyWar currently links it to Expansion for an immediate action boost. Simply move into position, after your turn, manifest Grip of Iron for 1 PP, and Expansion for whatever's left, and when your turn starts, boom, you're big.

Tash multi-pouncing:

Psionics has a lot of Psychoportation powers, the best of which is Dimension Hop. A Tashed out Monk/PsyWar or Monk/Ardent who aquires Dim Hop and a couple of other Psychoportation powers can really have some fun with Complete Warrior's Sun School tactical feat to squeeze in a couple extra attacks in a round for very low PP expenditure. Combine with Link Power or something like Scism to nova even more.

[Psyren]

While metapower can be applied multiple times, it expressly doesn't negate the expend-focus requirement for metapsionics, so practically, you can only ever get away with two metas, using the extra focus from your psicrystal.

That requires a rather silly reading of the metapsionics rules. Yes, the general rule is that you must expend your focus to activate metapsionics, but every metapsionic feat except Metapower carries that statement within the feat itself. If the RAI were for Metapower to require its own focus expenditure, the feat would have said so like all the others do.

But if you want to stick to the RAW, I can do so and still get what I want. Metapower permanently reduces the extra cost needed to apply metapsionics to that power. Ergo, once you choose a power, you only have to expend your focus once for Metapower to be applied to that power forevermore.

[Da Beast]

Is this only for broken tricks or just useful combos someone new to psionics might not know? If it's the latter maybe you should add some less cheesy stuff like vigor/psicrystal affinity/share pain to double your temp HP.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Is this only for broken tricks or just useful combos someone new to psionics might not know? If it's the latter maybe you should add some less cheesy stuff like vigor/psicrystal affinity/share pain to double your temp HP.

I want it to be a clearinghouse of sorts for both the cheesy tricks and useful combinations. My goal is to make a resource for those new to psionics, or who are looking for build ideas. So I'll add the Vigor/Psicrystal Affinity/Share Pain combination.

Stegyre: Thanks for helping me refine the recharge mechanic. I think I still need Psycarnum Infusion, however, as that lets you get around the 1/day limit of Midnight Augmentation. Though, upon rereading Midnight Augmentation, it doesn't seem to have a 1/day limit. Am I just reading it wrong? I'll fix the MoI recharge trick once I figure this out.

[Radar]

I dug out the description of the save game trick. I'm not sure about the author tough. Anyway, here it is:
First, it is necessary to have the following powers/spells/items available to you:
Forced Dream (Magic of Eberron)
Anticipatory Strike (Complete Psionics)
Time Hop
Psionic Contingency
A psi-crystal
Status
Imbue Spell-like Ability
Sending Stones (Magic Item) (Complete Arcane)

The Trick
1) Manifest psionic contingency on your psi-crystal placing a contingent ancipatory strike on him contingent on the event: returns to the normal timestream from a time hop.

2) Share metamorphosis with your psi-crystal. Transform him into something that isn't immune to mind-affecting compulsions. Heck you could transform him into an object of any size if you wish.

3) Have the party cleric use imbue spell-like ability on the psi-crsytal so that it can use the spell status. Mix with affinity field if you wish the psi-crystal to have knowledge of all party members' condition.

4) Psi-crystal casts status on you or whatever party member you choose. This person's condition will determine whether or not the save-game will be reloaded, so choose carefully.

5) Manifest forced dream on your psicrystal at some time before you fear harm will befall you.

6) Ready a std action to manifest time hop mass contingent on when the psi-crystal moves (tell him to do so), advancing him hours / level ahead in time. With enough ML you can advance your psi-crystal nearly a day.

7) Adventure on your merry way, whilst your psi-crystal is outside the time stream.

8) If your party succumbs to a TPK, your psi-crystal will still be alive and kicking the next day. No time will pass for him and when he comes out of the time hop the contingency will grant him sufficient actions to check the status of the party (provided they are on the same plane as the psi-crystal). The psi-crystal may also use a sending stone to ask whether his master would like to reload or not. If the party member is under a certain condition or if the master tells the crystal to, the save game is reloaded as the psi-crystal spends a swift action to return to the beginning of his turn (which began with you manifesting time hop on him right before he started moving). You may now retry whatever you failed to accomplish. There is a 5% error in the sending transmition if you are not on the same plane as the psi-crystal and the status effect will not work across planes.

[Psyren]

I dug out the description of the save game trick. I'm not sure about the author tough. Anyway, here it is:

*snip*

Psst... check post #4

[Fax Celestis]

The Easiest Psionic Gish Ever: manifest control body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/controlBody.htm) on yourself.

Also don't forget The Dream of Metal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121334).

[Psyren]

The Easiest Psionic Gish Ever: manifest control body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/controlBody.htm) on yourself.

Don't forget, you need solicit psicrystal to be able to full attack/charge etc.

Also, lack of AoOs can hurt if you're trying to tank. (No Stand Still etc.)

[Fax Celestis]

Don't forget, you need solicit psicrystal to be able to full attack/charge etc.

Also, lack of AoOs can hurt if you're trying to tank. (No Stand Still etc.)

Well, or some other swift/no-action concentration mechanism. IIRC there are a couple items that do something like that. Still, it's a neat little thing.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

The Easiest Psionic Gish Ever: manifest control body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/controlBody.htm) on yourself.

Also don't forget The Dream of Metal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121334).

I've already got the control body trick up (Move by Wire) but I'll look into this Dream of Metal. What's it do, exactly?

Also, Move by Wire works best if you're an Int based psychic, it doesn't do as much for Psywars, Wilders, and Ardents.

[Fax Celestis]

The Dream of Metal destroys a millennium on the Prime Material by rewinding time, and the person responsible becomes a lich with 108 horcruxes that he can scatter as he pleases through the multiverse.

[Stegyre]

That requires a rather silly reading of the metapsionics rules. Yes, the general rule is that you must expend your focus to activate metapsionics, but every metapsionic feat except Metapower carries that statement within the feat itself. If the RAI were for Metapower to require its own focus expenditure, the feat would have said so like all the others do.

But if you want to stick to the RAW, I can do so and still get what I want. Metapower permanently reduces the extra cost needed to apply metapsionics to that power. Ergo, once you choose a power, you only have to expend your focus once for Metapower to be applied to that power forevermore.
I think you are misunderstanding both me and Metapower. No one is saying that Metapower requires you to expend your focus. The limitation on Metapower is that it expressly does not relieve you of the focus requirement for the underlying metapsionic feat(s).

So you can Metapower (Empower-Energy Missile), expending your own focus, and Metapower (Maximize - Energy Missile), expending the focus from your psicrystal, to get yourself a Maximized, Empowered Energy Missile, at -4 pp from its usual augmentation cost, but after that, you don't have any more foci to expend to metapsionic it any further. You're done.

The sole exception of which I'm aware is the Ardent web ACF Dominant Ideal, which expressly does eliminate the focus requirement for metapsionics on powers from your dominant ideal, so you can twin-empower-maximize-link your Energy Missile to your heart's content. :smalleek:

Mere mortals, however? To foci, two metapsionics.

[Psyren]

The Dream of Metal destroys a millennium on the Prime Material by rewinding time, and the person responsible becomes a lich with 108 horcruxes that he can scatter as he pleases through the multiverse.

Technically there is only one horcrux - the Traveler aka the true Phylactery. He just happens to be located physically inside the shared dream of the others.

One option, though highly dangerous, is to enter their shared dream (there are a few ways to do this), locate the true Traveler (Metafaculty etc.) and destroy him without ending the Dream.

[Fax Celestis]

Yes, but doing that, like you said, is intrinsically dangerous. Plus you have to find him inside a giant pocket dreamworld dimension completely under its parent lich's control. It's sort of like assaulting a god in his own demesne: it is theoretically doable, but it is generally not a good idea.

[Psyren]

So you can Metapower (Empower-Energy Missile), expending your own focus, and Metapower (Maximize - Energy Missile), expending the focus from your psicrystal, to get yourself a Maximized, Empowered Energy Missile, at -4 pp from its usual augmentation cost, but after that, you don't have any more foci to expend to metapsionic it any further. You're done.

I know about all that - I wasn't implying that you could metapower past -4. What I was pointing out is that you can, say, Quicken Reality Revision (aka Wish) pre-epic. (17+6-4=19)


Yes, but doing that, like you said, is intrinsically dangerous. Plus you have to find him inside a giant pocket dreamworld dimension completely under its parent lich's control. It's sort of like assaulting a god in his own demesne: it is theoretically doable, but it is generally not a good idea.

Whether it's "under his control" is debatable - they may worship him, but that in itself doesn't give them the power to shape the dreamscape any more than any other sleeping mind would have.

In fact, if the dream becomes a nightmare things could actually end up badly for him - the object of their affection being subject to horrors which would affect him if he chases the party inside.

[Fax Celestis]

His oneiromantic stuff gives him intrinsic control over dreamspace, I thought.

[Godskook]

Stegyre: Thanks for helping me refine the recharge mechanic. I think I still need Psycarnum Infusion, however, as that lets you get around the 1/day limit of Midnight Augmentation. Though, upon rereading Midnight Augmentation, it doesn't seem to have a 1/day limit. Am I just reading it wrong? I'll fix the MoI recharge trick once I figure this out.

The 1/day limit is on investing into midnight augmentation. There's no limit on how often you can use it.

As for dirty tricks go, there's the psicrystal/leadership loop, too.

Requires: A DM willing to let you chose your "sidekicks" abilities,

Start with a Psion. Starting level is dependent on flaws and race(Human with 2 flaws can get it done at level 2). Psicrystal affinity + Improved Psicrystal as many times as needed. The goal is to get a 6 HD psicrystal, which qualifies for leadership. The psicrystal attracts a level 4 human psion with at least a 7HD psicrystal, who takes leadership, who attracts a level 5 psion capable of gabbing a 8HD psicrystal with 12 charisma. This continues ad nauseum, until you have an enjoyable number of level 17 psion chohorts with psicrystals who've taken leadership for another level 17 psion.

[Stegyre]

The 1/day limit is on investing into midnight augmentation. There's no limit on how often you can use it.
I would disagree with that, but I've already had that debate here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132512), and I've nothing new to add to it.

I'll just revert to my base position: if it gives you infinite power points, it's broken, whether or not it's RAW. (In this particular case, unlike the Bestow Power tricks, I don't think it is RAW, but reasonable minds may differ.)
EDIT: Upon a much belated re-read, I recognize GK was talking about Midnight Augmentation, while I was thinking (in my response) about Azure Talent. I agree with GK's application of MA: invest once, and the benefit applies to any augmented use of the power throughout the day. (It's much better than the arcane equivalent.)

[Kalaska'Agathas]

The 1/day limit is on investing into midnight augmentation. There's no limit on how often you can use it.

As for dirty tricks go, there's the psicrystal/leadership loop, too.

Requires: A DM willing to let you chose your "sidekicks" abilities,

Start with a Psion. Starting level is dependent on flaws and race(Human with 2 flaws can get it done at level 2). Psicrystal affinity + Improved Psicrystal as many times as needed. The goal is to get a 6 HD psicrystal, which qualifies for leadership. The psicrystal attracts a level 4 human psion with at least a 7HD psicrystal, who takes leadership, who attracts a level 5 psion capable of gabbing a 8HD psicrystal with 12 charisma. This continues ad nauseum, until you have an enjoyable number of level 17 psion chohorts with psicrystals who've taken leadership for another level 17 psion.

Alright, I'll have to write that up. Any ideas on what to call it?


...The Dream of Metal...

I'm not quite sure how this works, from a mechanical perspective. I'll see if I can figure it out and write it up, if not, I'll link to it.



I would disagree with that, but I've already had that debate here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132512), and I've nothing new to add to it.

I'll just revert to my base position: if it gives you infinite power points, it's broken, whether or not it's RAW. (In this particular case, unlike the Bestow Power tricks, I don't think it is RAW, but reasonable minds may differ.)

If it doesn't work more than once per day, I'll just add Psycarnum Infusion to the mix, which should get around that limit.

[Fax Celestis]

I'm not quite sure how this works, from a mechanical perspective. I'll see if I can figure it out and write it up, if not, I'll link to it.

Forced dream reverses time to the beginning of your last turn. Quintessence freezes you in time. If someone pushes you into a vat of quintessence while you're manifesting forced dream, you freeze in time, mid-turn, and the world continues on around you. The Dream of Metal uses a water clock to control the rate of quintessence: it runs out of quintessence a millennium after the initial manifestation, and forced dream resolves, reverting history and time to the beginning of your last turn. Since your turn began a millennium ago, time reverts to that point, destroying a millennium of history. Since spells and powers do not cross planar boundaries unless they explicitly say they do (or have Transdimensional Spell/Power applied to them), only the Prime Material is temporally reversed, and the outer planes suffer the resultant loss: anyone who was on the Prime Material at the point of reversal is irrevocably destroyed. Deities have risen in that time frame will find themselves without worshipers (and depending on your setting, a god without worshipers dies). Civilization will be reverted back a thousand years of progress. Prime Material based creatures who are off-plane will return home and find things vastly different.

[FMArthur]

I'm not quite sure how this works, from a mechanical perspective. I'll see if I can figure it out and write it up, if not, I'll link to it.

It's actually simpler than the "Save Game" trick, and significantly less useful. Remember Forced Dream? That rewound time back to when it was first cast? Well, there's a substance called Quintessence that freezes a person in time. The target on which Forced Dream is cast falls into a large amount of this mid-turn with a readied action to reset everything as soon as he comes out of stasis. This is all put into a water clock for an arbitrary amount of time (1000 years is the scenario given) so that eventually it runs out and the guy resets time as soon as that happens. Then some spells are used to go into dreams and place a phylactery somewhere safe; this is actually very unrelated so it's a bit confusing.

[Psyren]

His oneiromantic stuff gives him intrinsic control over dreamspace, I thought.

Nope, just bonuses to enchantment/illusion spells cast while dreaming. Improved adds spells to his list related to sleep/dreaming. None of them give him any special ability to manipulate dreamstuff - and more importantly, not his followers (it is their dream after all.)

To even gain the benefits of his oneiromancy he has to follow the PCs into the dreamworld, so he's already saved them the trouble of tracking him down by them going on the offensive.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Added ACMA and ACME.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Added The Carmen San Diego Trick.

[Radar]

As much as Affinity Field is all around the place, there was no mention (I think - I might have failed my Spot check again) of using two of those at the same time... overlaping each other. Effects can be interesting:
1. A single manifesting of Bestow Power will trigger an infinite cascade of extra power points.
2. It's the basic building block of the Perpetual Damage Machine (AFAIK).
3. Just don't prick your finger unprepared - not funny.

[Jack_Simth]

As much as Affinity Field is all around the place, there was no mention (I think - I might have failed my Spot check again) of using two of those at the same time... overlaping each other. Effects can be interesting:
1. A single manifesting of Bestow Power will trigger an infinite cascade of extra power points.
2. It's the basic building block of the Perpetual Damage Machine (AFAIK).
3. Just don't prick your finger unprepared - not funny.
Not necessarily.

See, the phrasing is 'as you do'.

So you manifest Affinity Field, and get bitten by a mouse for 1 point of damage. The other guy standing in the Affinity Field takes damage as you do - one point.

The other guy, upset at the mouse bite, casts affinity field himself, and gets himself bitten by a mouse (he's a Wilder, who dumped both Int and Wis, say) and takes 1 point of damage. You take damage as he does (one mouse bite).

The infinite damage thing (or the infinite PP thing, or the infinite actions bit using the same route) requires it bounce back and affect the original target twice.

Thing is, though, he's damaged as you are, and he was already damaged as you were by that event. It's not too much of a stretch in such a scenario to simply say he's already damaged "as you are" and so the Affinity field trigger is already satisfied, and has no additional effect.

[Psyren]

Honestly, it's a 9th-level power. Either your campaign is already broken and it doesn't matter, or you're actively protecting it from breaking, in which case AF should be banned/houseruled along with Wish, Gate and everything else degenerate at that level.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Indeed, Affinity Field is pretty borked already. No need to 'put an Affinity Field in your Affinity Field' as the saying goes. Of course, there's nothing preventing you from doing that (at least with some readings of the rules) apart from a sense of gentlemanly behavior.

[Psyren]

Psionic Last Breath (aka dirt-cheap Raise Dead through psionics)


You need:

Psionic Revivify (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psionicRevivify.htm)
Quintessence (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/quintessence.htm)/Time Hop (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/timeHop.htm)
A Bag of Holding (optional but helpful)

This trick lets you raise a party member for the paltry cost of 200 xp (+ a little more if you're a slowpoke), with no level loss or pricey diamonds.

When a party member snuffs it, simply get their body covered in Quintessence. Alternatively: Time Hop the body (corpses are objects; you may have to remove any heavy gear.)

Time Hop is better at protecting the body, but makes you unable to move it - you will thus need the Revivifier to be present at the place and time of the corpse's return.

Quintessence lets you move the body to safety, but must cover the corpse completely, which can take additional time; this is where the Bag of Holding comes in, submerge them like it's Tapioca and hoof it.

You can even combine the two - Time Hop your friend's corpse until the battle is over, then grab it and toss it in your bag of Quint.

Benefit
Either method will "stop the clock" on Psionic Revivify from the deceased's perspective, as well as protect the corpse from further damage. You still have to pay 200 XP (give or take a few hundred) but XP is a river so I'll take that over 5000 gp of diamonds.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Alright Psyren, I've added the Psionic Last Breath Trick, and attributed it to you.

I've been working on another trick myself, but I could use some help in figuring out how much it costs (both in GP and XP) and how to reduce those costs. The trick is to use Metaconcert and Psychic Chirurgery to give a manifester more powers known (including Psywar/Ardent only powers, without counting against their powers known limit) while reducing the XP cost of Psychic Chirurgery to reasonable levels. The trick is to get up to ten manifesters (including one who knows Psychic Chirurgery), manifest Metaconcert, and have the Metaconcert-thing manifest Psychic Chirurgery on you, teaching you a new power. This should (if you have ten people) reduce the XP cost you pay to a tenth of normal (everyone pays a tenth of the XP cost, as per Metapower). This can be used to teach PsyWar powers to Psions, and vice versa, and to teach Discipline powers to Psions of other disciplines (and Erudites) without using EK.

Now, for the work yet to be done - I need to find a way to describe this trick that is more clear (the above strikes me as a bit confusing to read), I need to figure out how much it would cost to get 9 other manifesters (including one of at least 17th level) to come together and do a metaconcert, and I need to figure out how to reduce Psychic Chirurgery's effective level to 3rd, so it would be shareable via Affinity Field (That way everyone in the Metaconcert (save those who already know the power) could learn a 9th level power for 900XP if my math is right).

[Stegyre]

The trick is to get up to ten manifesters (including one who knows Psychic Chirurgery), manifest Metaconcert, and have the Metaconcert-thing manifest Psychic Chirurgery on you, teaching you a new power. This should (if you have ten people) reduce the XP cost you pay to a tenth of normal (everyone pays a tenth of the XP cost, as per Metapower). This can be used to teach PsyWar powers to Psions, and vice versa, and to teach Discipline powers to Psions of other disciplines (and Erudites) without using EK.
You haven't reduced the XP cost; you've just distributed it.

Ofc, there's some benefit to doing that: you have a larger XP pool to draw upon and you can more readily refill that pool.

(This is probably the place for a Memory Bottle trick.)

[Kalaska'Agathas]

I've reduced the XP cost to me, which is all my (self-centered) characters care about. What's the memory bottle trick?

[Radar]

I've reduced the XP cost to me, which is all my (self-centered) characters care about. What's the memory bottle trick?
Thought Bottle is an item, that lets you store all your memories for a flat cost of 500 XP. The point is, if you use the Bottle to restore your memories, your XP counter goes back to the ammount you had, when you stored your memories minus those 500 XP. So:
1. Store your memories and XP.
2. Go nuts spending your XP on crafting or expensive powers/spells/whatever.
3. Use the Bottle to restore all the lost XP sans the flat 500 XP cost of using the Bottle.

[Jack_Simth]

Thought Bottle is an item, that lets you store all your memories for a flat cost of 500 XP. The point is, if you use the Bottle to restore your memories, your XP counter goes back to the ammount you had, when you stored your memories minus those 500 XP. So:
1. Store your memories and XP.
2. Go nuts spending your XP on crafting or expensive powers/spells/whatever.
3. Use the Bottle to restore all the lost XP sans the flat 500 XP cost of using the Bottle.
You can actually do it without a thought bottle (although this method always truncates your XP, putting you at the minimum for the level you started the cycle in).

The XP yo-yo (alternate title: Do the Wight thing):Minimum level: 12th (although a Ring of Spell Storing, under Transparency, can bring this down to 11th)
You need: Psionic Restoration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/restorationPsionic.htm), and a critter under your control that can apply one negative level (such as a Wight (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/wight.htm), but anything that can apply one negative level at a time, with a type of negative level that will convert to real level loss, will do).

Method:
Step 0: If using the Ring of Spell Storing method, store Psionic Restoration in the Ring.
Step 1: Have the critter hit you for one negative level.
Step 2: Wait until the time rolls around for the Fort save on that negative level, and voluntarily fail it, converting it to real level loss (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#levelLoss), setting your XP to halfway between the level you were and the level before (e.g., if you were level 12, and got drained to 11th, you're halfway between 11th and 12th - 60,500 xp, which is 5,500 xp in excess of 11th).
Step 3: Spend your newly-unlocked XP however you like (5,500 xp, for the character who starts this as a 12th level Egoist) - but watch the time limit!
Step 4: Before the time limit expires (1 day per manifester level), use Psionic Restoration to wipe away the level loss, which brings you "up to the minimum number of experience points necessary to advance it to the next higher level".

Congrats - By RAW, you just spent XP without having to actually pay for it.

Note: This can also be done by a Cleric at a lower level with the regular version of Restoration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/restoration.htm), but that costs 100 gp per iteration in material components by default. The higher-level Greater Restoration (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/restorationGreater.htm) trades it for an XP component, which the method itself can pay for. Plus an evil cleric has a better chance of having the wight kind of minion to pull it off, too.


Now, if we can just figure out how to truly give away XP....

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Added Do the Wight Thing.

I'm a little fuzzy on this, but I seem to remember a feat called Damp Power, which reduced the effective level of a Power, but I can't seem to find it. Anyone want to point me in the right direction?

[AnswersQuestion]

Added Do the Wight Thing.

I'm a little fuzzy on this, but I seem to remember a feat called Damp Power, which reduced the effective level of a Power, but I can't seem to find it. Anyone want to point me in the right direction?

Complete Psi. Variable numeric effects are reduced against you. All dice roll "1"s, kinda like an inverted maximize.

[classy one]

Read this on BG forums by the guy who wrote the Ardent handbook (don't remember his name since BG is down) but it's a simple one.

Infinite range

Needs: Ardent level 10 with dominant mantle and enlarge power feat.
The trick: apply expand power to a power repeatedly to make all powers in the dominant mantle have infinite range. Dominant mantle prevents you losing your focus, and expand power doesn't cost any extra PP (or say you can't stack it). Now all your powers with range greater than personal or touch are infinite.

[Psyren]

This is an older trick (i.e. not mine - Lycanthromancer maybe?) but a simple one. This works best for Psywars/Ardents.

Feat Battery


You will need:

A psicrystal with Wild/Hidden Talent, or psionic cohort
Feat Leech (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/featLeech.htm)
Psychic Reformation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psychicReformation.htm) (optional but highly useful)

Benefit:
The feat leech power should be self-explanatory - you can borrow a number of psionic or metapsionic feats equal to your Wis mod. Though the power is assumed to be offensive, you can just as easily manifest it on your psicrystal (as they gain feats) or a cohort, asking them to voluntarily fail the will save.

Good suggestions for leechable feats:
Power Penetration + GPP: Why waste your own feats getting these when you can use your psicrystal? +8 to your ML check will give even an Illithid pause. Humorously, neither of these feats actually requires a manifester level.
Ghost Attack: Less reliable than a Ghost Touch weapon, but it's free. You can get this pretty early on depending on your own BAB (far earlier than it would take to craft a Ghost Touch weapon yourself - level 4-6 at the latest.)
Aligned Attack: This could potentially come in handy.
Psionic Talent (n): This deserves its own section; I'll revisit the true shenanigans in a later post.
If you want a ton of extra PP, this is the way to go. Every time your psicrystal takes Psionic Talent, it (and therefore you) will gain n+1 PP, where n was the PP it gained from the last time it took Psionic Talent. At level 12, you will gain:
2 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 = 18 PP, minus 3 = 15 PP net, or an 8th-level slot - provided you have 20 Wis.
At level 18, you will gain:
2 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 = 31 PP minus 3 = 28 PP net, provided you have 24 Wis.2 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5

Delay Power: What I like most about this feat - nobody ever expects you to have it. Get creative!
Greater Psionic Shot: This feat chain is expensive, so why not have your psicrystal do all the work and just borrow it when you want extra punch? Pity you don't get iteratives.
Inquisitor: Very campaign-dependent. Most of the time though, by the time you leech this it's too late to be useful.
Overchannel/Talented: On the off-chance you didn't take these, your Psicrystal can do so for you.
Transdimensional Power/Burrowing Power: These are the kind of feats that you wish you had when you need them, and wish you didn't when you don't. In other words, perfect for Leech.


This trick gets truly ridiculous in epic levels (Epic Psionic Feats are still Psionic Feats, plus your Psicrystal becomes a manifester and can take things like Expanded Knowledge.) But then, what doesn't?

[Godskook]

Alright, I'll have to write that up. Any ideas on what to call it?

Call it: "Shards of Leadership."

And to extend the combo, you can eventually have enough WBL to afford at least a +6 cloak of charisma and tome of leadership and influence(+5). Give that gear to one of the psicrystals that qualifies for epic feats, and he should now be able to take epic leadership. This is *the* doozy, so we need to go for broke. The master of our Epic-Leadership Psicrystal(ELPC for short) needs to be a level 17 human psion with no multiclassing and *ALL* improved psicrystal feats. Assuming he's flawless, that gives our ELPC HD equal to the Psion's level + 9, or 26 HD. With all level up points in charisma and both of the above items, our psicrystal has 27 charisma, for a +8 bonus. This gives a leadership score of 34. That's a level 22 cohort. Eclesiarch gives us an added umph of +2 leadership, though, which is a level 23 cohort. Maximizing this cohort as the last, gives us level +13, or a 36 HD ELPC this time around, which has a charisma of 30(another set of the same items), leading a new leadership score of 46, granting a level 28 cohort.

In order for the loop to become efficient without the need for purchasing items, we need a 60 HD psicrystal, who'll have a natural charisma high enough to take epic leadership without any tome or cloak. With a 67 leadership, he'll attract level 38 cohort. As a human psion, he'll have 25 feats, giving him a psicrystal of 62 HD, and we've now reached a WBL-free loop.

Since the first paragraph's cohorts were moving at the rate of +5 levels per iteration, I suspect that our purchases will only require 4 tomes and 4 cloaks of charisma, less with a more liberal use of Eclesiarch or other leadership feats.

[classy one]

Another abuse of Ardent's dominant mantle ACF and proving why psionic focus is there for a reason.

Psionic metamagic:
Needed:
Ardent 10 with dominant mantle
Power greater with duration longer than instantaneous in said mantle
Extend Power feat
Metapower

How it works:
Using metamorphosis as an example:
1)connect extend power and metamorphosis with metapower.
2)Select natural world as Dominant mantle.
3)Now when you apply extend power to metamorphosis it is free
4)repeat step 3 infinitly.

Of course you can use a different power like temporal acceleration for lots of free time instead. Still can be stopped by a dispel or null psionic/magic field but clerics are not the only ones with DMM-persist anymore.

Optional: subsitute powers to get whatever power you want into your desired mantle.

[Stegyre]

3)Now when you apply extend power to metamorphosis it is free
4)repeat step 3 infinitly.
I'm sorry, but this really just doesn't work.

First, you cannot apply the same metamagic/metapsionic effect to the same casting/manifestation of a spell/power: they do not stack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/castingSpells.htm#combiningMagicalEffects), and that includes psionics (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#stackingEffects).

Second, it is debatable whether the Dominant Ideal benefit is -2 per metapsionic feat (as needed for this idea to work), rather than -2 for all augmentations collectively.

The text is, "the power point cost of augmenting or applying metapsionic feats to these idealized powers is reduced by 2." While you might argue this means -2 for each application, even on the same manifestation, that leads to some rather absurd results. "Okay, I'm augmenting the Energy Missile with +2 pp, reduced to 0, and now I'm augmenting it with another +2 pp, reduced to 0, and now . . . ."
I would argue that the much better interpretation is that you subtract 2 pp from the entire augmentation cost, so a maximized (+4) empowered (+2) burrowing (+2) chained (+6) enlarged (+0) transdimensional (+0) widened (+4) power has a cost of 16 (18-2), not 8.

Again, there are borked ideas that work, by RAW: Bestow Power, XP tricks (the Wight Thing, etc.). This ain't one of 'em. Neither is the "adding infinite enlarge powers."

[Urpriest]

Call it: "Shards of Leadership."

And to extend the combo, you can eventually have enough WBL to afford at least a +6 cloak of charisma and tome of leadership and influence(+5). Give that gear to one of the psicrystals that qualifies for epic feats, and he should now be able to take epic leadership. This is *the* doozy, so we need to go for broke. The master of our Epic-Leadership Psicrystal(ELPC for short) needs to be a level 17 human psion with no multiclassing and *ALL* improved psicrystal feats. Assuming he's flawless, that gives our ELPC HD equal to the Psion's level + 9, or 26 HD. With all level up points in charisma and both of the above items, our psicrystal has 27 charisma, for a +8 bonus. This gives a leadership score of 34. That's a level 22 cohort. Eclesiarch gives us an added umph of +2 leadership, though, which is a level 23 cohort. Maximizing this cohort as the last, gives us level +13, or a 36 HD ELPC this time around, which has a charisma of 30(another set of the same items), leading a new leadership score of 46, granting a level 28 cohort.

In order for the loop to become efficient without the need for purchasing items, we need a 60 HD psicrystal, who'll have a natural charisma high enough to take epic leadership without any tome or cloak. With a 67 leadership, he'll attract level 38 cohort. As a human psion, he'll have 25 feats, giving him a psicrystal of 62 HD, and we've now reached a WBL-free loop.

Since the first paragraph's cohorts were moving at the rate of +5 levels per iteration, I suspect that our purchases will only require 4 tomes and 4 cloaks of charisma, less with a more liberal use of Eclesiarch or other leadership feats.

Isn't leadership capped by ECL, though? So a psicrystal can have a cohort up to ECL-2, but since psicrystals are LA - this means no cohort allowed?

[Psyren]

Isn't leadership capped by ECL, though? So a psicrystal can have a cohort up to ECL-2, but since psicrystals are LA - this means no cohort allowed?

They may not have LA, but they have HD. So, just don't count the LA.

[Urpriest]

They may not have LA, but they have HD. So, just don't count the LA.

ECL doesn't work like that, though. If you have LA -, then you just flat-out don't have the ECL stat. And the ECL stat is what Leadership is based on, IIRC.

[Stegyre]

ECL doesn't work like that, though. If you have LA -, then you just flat-out don't have the ECL stat. And the ECL stat is what Leadership is based on, IIRC.
Not that I care (at all) for nested Leadership cheese, but I don't see the RAW support for this argument.

The only stated reason (of which I'm aware) for the "-" entry in a creature description is to designate those generally not suitable as PCs or cohorts. (Here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/intro.htm), level adjustment, at the bottom.)

It's not even clear that the "level" referred to in the Leadership feat description should be ECL. Why should Pixies get an extra +4 boost to their leadership score, just because they have LA +4? :smallconfused:

[Psyren]

ECL doesn't work like that, though. If you have LA -, then you just flat-out don't have the ECL stat. And the ECL stat is what Leadership is based on, IIRC.

Source?

We all know that "LA -" != "LA 0", but it's still a stretch from there to "LA - = no ECL"

If that were true, Truenaming wouldn't work on any monster not intended to be a PC race. (Not that it does anyway, but you get the thrust of my objection.)

[Urpriest]

Source?

We all know that "LA -" != "LA 0", but it's still a stretch from there to "LA - = no ECL"

If that were true, Truenaming wouldn't work on any monster not intended to be a PC race. (Not that it does anyway, but you get the thrust of my objection.)

Having looked around on this topic, it appears that Leadership is indeed based on character level, despite the fact that the cohort's level is calculated based on ECL. So you guys are right.

In terms of Truenaming, that's based on challenge rating, or hit dice for PCs, not ECL in either case.

[Stegyre]

Having looked around on this topic, it appears that Leadership is indeed based on character level, despite the fact that the cohort's level is calculated based on ECL. So you guys are right.
I salute your integrity. :smallsmile:

(RAW can be a real -itch, and I don't think any of us know it all, except maybe Crumudgeon.)

[Psyren]

Perhaps the truenaming example was off-kilter, but I still take issue with "LA -" obliterating your ECL, whether or not Leadership is based off ECL.

[Claudius Maximus]

Pounce for 300 gp:

Psionic Lion's Charge (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psionicLionsCharge.htm) grants the pounce ability. It has an instantaneous duration. Technically you only have to manifest it once. A character can just buy a tattoo of it for 300 gp. Obviously not RAI.

Triple the strength of some powers:

1. Be a Kalashtar.

2. Jam a bunch of Power Link Crystals into your spine.

3. That's it.

By some readings you can multiply by 7 instead if you use all of the uses in one go. This isn't a combo, but it's preposterously strong and thus might have a place in a psionics optimization guide.

[Urpriest]

Perhaps the truenaming example was off-kilter, but I still take issue with "LA -" obliterating your ECL, whether or not Leadership is based off ECL.

I can't think of any situation where it would be relevant now, actually. I can't think of any ECL-based calculation that isn't players-only.

[Draz74]

No guide of dirty-RAW psionic tricks is complete without +1 Manifesting [Ammunition of choice].

AKA "Woohoo, now I can buy extra Power Points for 72 gold each."

Also, as far as I can tell, just having the feats Azure Talent and Psycarnum Infusion lets you generate a few temporary PP an unlimited number of times per day.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Well, Draz, the thing about Azure Talent+Psycarnum Infusion is they are Bonus PP, not temporary PP. So it could be argued (and has, by me at least) that it is a recharge set up in and of itself. I prefer the other tricks because the RAW seems more solid for them (as "Bonus" PP are never really defined, except as those you get from a high manifesting stat, I suppose).

[classy one]

I'm sorry, but this really just doesn't work.

First, you cannot apply the same metamagic/metapsionic effect to the same casting/manifestation of a spell/power: they do not stack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/castingSpells.htm#combiningMagicalEffects), and that includes psionics (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#stackingEffects).
By RAW they do stack. Metamagic effects are NOT magical effects and no where in RAW says they do not stack. Transparency only applies effects not mechanics, psionics uses PP while magic uses slots, how do you propose to make that equal in transparency?


Second, it is debatable whether the Dominant Ideal benefit is -2 per metapsionic feat (as needed for this idea to work), rather than -2 for all augmentations collectively.
While it is true dominant mantle likely does only lower the total cost by -2, you might have missed the part where you need the feat metapower, which does lower each application. Maybe you should go and take a look at my post again?

The increase in PP and lose of focus are intended limits to multiple applications of metapsionics. With them gone, who is to say you can't get infinite ragne or duration? You will need to show me something that specifically says the same metapsionic/magic feat (not effect) will not stack. Or that metapsi/magc feats are effects rather than just a different way to cast/manifest a power/spell (RAW).

[Stegyre]

By RAW they do stack. Metamagic effects are NOT magical effects and no where in RAW says they do not stack. Transparency only applies effects not mechanics, psionics uses PP while magic uses slots, how do you propose to make that equal in transparency?.
By RAW:

Multiple Metamagic Feats on a Spell
A spellcaster can apply multiple metamagic feats to a single spell. Changes to its level are cumulative. You can’t apply the same metamagic feat more than once to a single spell.

Admittedly, that's metamagics, not metapsionics, but the metapsionic feats tend to duplicate the metamagic feats.

I have also already given the general RAW rules for stacking effects -- and the default position is that the same effect from the same source does not stack.

So really, the burden is upon you to show, by RAW, where and why metapsionics are different in this regard. :smalltongue:

[Urpriest]

@ classy:

One thought on this topic: if your argument were correct, why couldn't a character apply Power Attack multiple times to an attack to bypass the BAB limit? Or apply Leap Attack as many times as you want to get infinite damage?

Feats present ways you can alter your actions, giving you altered actions to choose. You can't then use the feats to alter these actions again.

[classy one]

Oh that's reassuring. I had to home rule that you could only apply the same feat twice since one of my players tried to pull that on me. Where in the DMG (ie page number) is that so I can show it to them?
The power attack example wasn't too good since it specifically states that you can only use it to -5 on attack rolls but I get it.

I'm looking at all these dirty tricks and trying to homebrew rules to counter them. I'm starting to feel my players have a better grasp at psionics than me... I just started using it this campaign and for the most part I find to be easier to keep track of compared to slots. Still these tricks are something I should look for from my more savvy players.

Also I don't get the Carmen santiogo trick. Just a way to retrieve things at really far distances?

[Psyren]

Also I don't get the Carmen santiogo trick. Just a way to retrieve things at really far distances?

It's not all that far a distance really (without epic or metapsionics) but you can do some nifty stuff - like steal the key to your cell that's hanging from the wall in the other room, or steal all the mercenaries' weapons before you attack their camp etc.

If it's the name you didn't understand, read here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Sandiego)

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Also I don't get the Carmen santiogo trick. Just a way to retrieve things at really far distances?

Pretty much. Less really far distances (you still have to be within range of Retrieve, unless you manifest through Remote Viewing, which costs a lot of PP) and more without regard to the intervening space (and security measures). Though there has been discussion on BG that it may not work as written. You may need to manifest through Remote Viewing, which requires Manifester Level boosters to work (as it would cost 22PP if I remember correctly).

[Psyren]

Actually, I'm not so sure it would on second read. Sure you have to manifest the second power through RV, but the ML-PP limit is per power. not per round. The wording suggests the powers are manifested separately, even though they're done concurrently.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Actually, I'm not so sure it would on second read. Sure you have to manifest the second power through RV, but the ML-PP limit is per power. not per round. The wording suggests the powers are manifested separately, even though they're done concurrently.

Yes, but to manifest through Remote Viewing costs double the PP, and you cannot expend more PP than your ML on a single power (barring exceptions), so you would either have to be in Epic Levels or use ML boosters to be able to manifest Retrieve through Remote Viewing. Or have I misunderstood you?

[Psyren]

Yes, but to manifest through Remote Viewing costs double the PP, and you cannot expend more PP than your ML on a single power (barring exceptions), so you would either have to be in Epic Levels or use ML boosters to be able to manifest Retrieve through Remote Viewing. Or have I misunderstood you?

Ouch, I missed that line :smallredface:

But PP reduction should help - you apply effects in the most beneficial order, therefore a Torc/Earth Power etc. will reduce the PP cost before RV doubles it.

Hey, did you add my Feat Battery post to the OP yet?

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Ouch, I missed that line :smallredface:

But PP reduction should help - you apply effects in the most beneficial order, therefore a Torc/Earth Power etc. will reduce the PP cost before RV doubles it.

Hey, did you add my Feat Battery post to the OP yet?

I have updated the OP both here and at BG to include the Feat Battery trick.

[Claudius Maximus]

Oh wow. I didn't open the MoI spoiler so I thought it was already mentioned in there, but:

MoI Infinite Power Points Trick:

Take Body Fuel and Shape Soulmeld: Strongheart Vest. Shape the vest. You can now gain two power points for free whenever you want. I don't think it's even an action. Superior to many other "infinite" PP loops because you can recover all of them in one round. Go nuts with stuff like the Mad Minute up there.

This relies on the interpretation that since ability burn is explicitly a "form of ability damage", Strongheart Vest can prevent it (it does not heal it, which is the only difference between ability damage and burn).

[Jack_Simth]

Oh wow. I didn't open the MoI spoiler so I thought it was already mentioned in there, but:

MoI Infinite Power Points Trick:

Take Body Fuel and Shape Soulmeld: Strongheart Vest. Shape the vest. You can now gain two power points for free whenever you want. I don't think it's even an action. Superior to many other "infinite" PP loops because you can recover all of them in one round. Go nuts with stuff like the Mad Minute up there.

This relies on the interpretation that since ability burn is explicitly a "form of ability damage", Strongheart Vest can prevent it (it does not heal it, which is the only difference between ability damage and burn).
There's a potential problem with that:
Body Fuel (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#bodyFuel) specifies that you can do so by "taking" ability burn. Strongheart Vest reduce the amount of damage that you take. If you don't take the ability burn, you're not "taking" it, and so, no power points.

That's not a certain one, but it's something a DM can enforce while still being within the rules exactly as they're written.

[Radar]

There's a potential problem with that:
Body Fuel (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#bodyFuel) specifies that you can do so by "taking" ability burn. Strongheart Vest reduce the amount of damage that you take. If you don't take the ability burn, you're not "taking" it, and so, no power points.

That's not a certain one, but it's something a DM can enforce while still being within the rules exactly as they're written.
So the proper solution is the same as with Hellfire Warlock: bind Naberius. Unfortunately it heals only 1 point of ability damage per stat per round. It is still a neat trick.

[Psyren]

So the proper solution is the same as with Hellfire Warlock: bind Naberius. Unfortunately it heals only 1 point of ability damage per stat per round. It is still a neat trick.

Naberius won't work on Ability Burn - it cannot be magically healed, and all vestige abilities are supernatural unless specified otherwise.

[classy one]

Okay how about the psionic tattoo mastery with psychic reformation trick?

According the thread on tattoos in BG, you make a tattoo of psychic reformation, connect it to a capacitor, pay the cost of the tattoo and now you can swap all your powers and feats on a moment's notice.

According to the rules that govern tattoos, all PP and XP costs are prepaid by the crafter, so spamming psychic reformation from a tattoo would not result in lose of XP.
Sounds too good to be true but the guys in BG seem to think it is legit. Is it?

[Claudius Maximus]

Well if that works then that opens the door for any power with an xp component to be used over and over like that.

[Stegyre]

Sounds too good to be true but the guys in BG seem to think it is legit. Is it?
I can think of at least two problems:

First, Getting Wired (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20031225a) is actually 3.0 material: notice the reference to psionic combat modes? That doesn't necessarily mean it's "out," but it does make it problematic. (IMO, psionic tattoo rules may still be used.)

Second, When you create a psionic tattoo, you make any choices that you would normally make when manifesting the power. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#scribeTattoo) Thus, when you have a psionic tattoo of Psychic Reformation, you don't have a free manifestation of that power to use whenever, however, you wish. You have a manifestation of that power to do one particular thing. One suggestion I've heard bandied about is that you can use "sets" of Psychic Reformation tattoos to implement certain builds such as an "item creation build" that removes Power Attack and replaces it with Craft Wondrous Item, and a "combat build" that removes Craft Wondrous Item and replaces it with Power Attack.

That would appear to work by RAW. It also isn't nearly as exciting and not alarmingly broken. I'd probably allow it, myself.

EDIT: Darn me for not being a close enough reader:

Third, 3.5 rules that tattoos may only be made of 3rd level and lower powers. So Psychic Reformation (and other high-powered, XP-costing powers) are right out.

[classy one]

I can think of at least two problems:

First, Getting Wired (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20031225a) is actually 3.0 material: notice the reference to psionic combat modes? That doesn't necessarily mean it's "out," but it does make it problematic. (IMO, psionic tattoo rules may still be used.)

Second, When you create a psionic tattoo, you make any choices that you would normally make when manifesting the power. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#scribeTattoo) Thus, when you have a psionic tattoo of Psychic Reformation, you don't have a free manifestation of that power to use whenever, however, you wish. You have a manifestation of that power to do one particular thing. One suggestion I've heard bandied about is that you can use "sets" of Psychic Reformation tattoos to implement certain builds such as an "item creation build" that removes Power Attack and replaces it with Craft Wondrous Item, and a "combat build" that removes Craft Wondrous Item and replaces it with Power Attack.

That would appear to work by RAW. It also isn't nearly as exciting and not alarmingly broken. I'd probably allow it, myself.

EDIT: Darn me for not being a close enough reader:

Third, 3.5 rules that tattoos may only be made of 3rd level and lower powers. So Psychic Reformation (and other high-powered, XP-costing powers) are right out.

Getting Wired was updated and then lost. Someone saved a copy and posted it in BG.

In Getting Wired there is a feat called tattoo mastery, that allows you make tattoos of level 4-9 as well as do things like heighten the power, add components like relays (link tats), cap (tats don't go away), mental tap (tap tats as a swift action and no AoO) and so on.
I think you should take a closer read at that article.

[classy one]

Here's the feat word-for-word:

Psionic Tattoo Mastery [Item Creation]

You can create more intricate and powerful psionic tattoos.

Prerequisite: Scribe Tattoo.

Benefit: You can create a psionic tattoo of any appropriate psionic power up to 9th level. The amount of time required to create a psionic tattoo is one day per 1,000 gp of base cost of the tattoo. Tattoos of powers higher than 3rd level are larger and more intricate; these tattoos count as more than one tattoo (see Table 1-1: Psionic Tattoos; note that the normal limit you can have is seventeen tattoos). You can create metapsionic-enhanced tattoos. You must have the metapsionic feat on your list of feats. The metapsionic level increases by 1 for every 2 points a metapsionic feat increases the power's cost. The number of slots used by the metapsionic-enhanced tattoo is based on its metapsionic level. The tattoo's metapsionic level is used for calculating its base cost. Metapsionic-enhanced tattoos are limited by the creator's metapsionic cap.

[Stegyre]

Here's the feat word-for-word:
Yeah, but as I wrote, it's a 3.0 feat, and 3.5 has no such feat.

I think there is a published statement about the viability of 3.0 material not reproduced in 3.5. I'm currently looking for it and will post.

But at a minimum, it's "iffy" to try importing the material. (As should be obvious, even if this third point fails, my second point still applies, making the strategy useful, but not really game-breaking.)

[Claudius Maximus]

I'm pretty sure the general policy is to accept all 3.0 material unless it has been reprinted or uses incompatible/outdated mechanics.

[Godskook]

Didn't psionics get a complete overhaul for 3.5? If that's the case, iirc, 3.0 psionic material isn't an option since its literally from a different subsystem that just happens to share the same name.

[Psyren]

As was stated, there was a 3.5 version of Getting Wired. It was lost in the Essentials update, along with some other articles like Epic Binders.

[Aharon]

While the XPH is more thorough than other sourcebooks in changing what has come before, it is not explicitly a rewrite, so, as other 3.0 stuff, so the tattoo stuff can be used totally fine.

Also:
You can't touch me!
Persistent Power + Timeless Body.

Can be pulled off with either Ardent + Dominant Ideal + Psionic Thesis (the equivalent to arcane thesis, don't remember it's name)
or, for 1 day at a time, with
Psionic Artificer 13 who has Persistent Power.

Credit goes to me, but one of the Test of Spite contributors had the same idea before me independently. I don't remember who it was, unfortunately.

[Psyren]

I don't know what 3.0's Persistent Power looked like, but Hyperconscious has it too - along with a great feat that treats you as focused at all times for a chosen feat's "while you are focused" requirement.

[Aharon]

It looks like other old Metapsionic Feats: No Psionic Focus required. Plus, it has a PP-increase equivalent to the 3.0 Persistent Spell - 8 points, corresponding to 4 spell levels.

[classy one]

I'm pretty sure the general policy is to accept all 3.0 material unless it has been reprinted or uses incompatible/outdated mechanics.

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=4319.0
PhaedrusXY saved it from back in the day, and here it is in it's entirity.

Getting Re-Wired
or
Expanded Expanded Psionic Tattoos

When I first read the rules for Getting Wired (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20031225a) in 3.0, it struck me as a very intriguing concept. Allowing higher power tattoos, utility tattoos that modified regular tattoos, and even blinding tattoos. Unfortunately, with the release of the Expanded Psionics Handbook, many of the rules in Getting Wired did not take into account the new system, and parts of it were entirely obsolete due to the removal of Combat Modes. Some of it, however, requires no revision at all. So, here's a go at converting it over...

_________________________________

Psionic Tattoo Mastery

You can create more intricate and powerful psionic tattoos.

Prerequisite: Scribe Tattoo

Benefit: You can create a psionic tattoo of any appropriate psionic power, up to 9th level. The amount of time required to create a psionic tattoo is one day per 1,000 gp of base cost of the tattoo. Tattoos of powers higher than 3rd level are larger and more intricate; these tattoos count as more than one tattoo (see Table 1-1: Psionic Tattoo; note that the normal limit you can have is twenty tattoos). Due to the nature of psionic focus, you cannot enhance psionic tattoos with metapsionic feats. Psionic Tattoos are fully augmentable. For every 1 additional power point spent, the manifester level is increased by 1. For every 2 additional manifester levels, the power level increases by 1.
In a high-psionics campaign, this feat can be substituted for the Scribe Tattoo feat and the prerequisite removed.

Table 1-1: Psionic Tattoos

Code:
Power Base Total
Level Days* Slots**
1 1 1
2 1 1
3 1 1
4 2 3
5 3 5
6 4 7
7 5 9
8 6 11
9 7 13
* Based on total cost when created at its lowest base level
** The total number of tattoo slots normally available for psionic tattoos is 20.

___________________________________

Special Tattoos

Psionic tattoos aren't the only tattoos available. Several specialized tattoos have been developed over the centuries. To keep with the theme of "psychic circuitry," they have an electronic component theme to their naming structure. These specialized tattoos are broken into two types: basic tattos that are usually linked to psionic tattoos scribed with psionic powers, and advanced tattoos that are very specialized. These tattoos take up a number of tattoo slots based on their equivalent level. A minimum level requirement is given for creating these tattoos as well as any additional costs for specialized inks. The Psionic Tattoo Mastery feat is required to create these specialized tattoos.

Market

Code:
Type Symbol Fades Slots Level Ink Price
Fuse*** [F] Yes 1* 0 S 25gp
Relay [R] No 1 1 S 50gp
Integrated Circuit [IC] No 1 1 S 50gp
Circuit Breaker [CB] No 1 2 S 300gp
Mental Tap [MT] No 1 2 P 800gp
Capacitor [C] No 1 3 DC 1250gp
Transducer [T] No 1 3 DC 1250gp
Inducer [In] No 2 4 DC, P 2400gp
Emitter [E] Yes 11 8 DG, E 8000gp
Psychic Battery [Pb] Yes * * DC +500**
* Varies
** An additional cost for special materials
*** A fuse is a special case in that they use 1/3 of a slot;
for every three fuses or fraction thereof a single slot is used.
If you have one fuse and wish to add another one or two later,
the total of three fuses still eqquales a single slot.
S = Standard
P = Psychoactive
DC = Distilled Crystal
DG = Distilled Gemstones
E = Ectoplasm

Base Cost
Base cost for psionic tattoos is determined by the following formula:
Power Level x Manifester Level x 50 gp


New Tattoos and Increased Manifester Level
Unlike augmentation, it is possible to increase the manifester level of a psionic tattoo without changing the general effect of the power stored. Variables such as duration and range are modified by this change, but damage, saving throws, and any other augmented options are not utilized. Because of this, the level of the power stored in the psionic tattoo does not change. Multiply the power's base or augmented cost by the desired manifester level and multiply the result by 50 gp to determine the cost of the desired tattoo.

Example: Bob wants to scribe a tattoo of Vigor for 15 hp that lasts 10 minutes. Normally, a 15 hp tattoo of Vigor would cost 2 x 3 x 50, as the power has been augmented by 2 power points. However, in this situation, the power level stays at 2, but the manifester level increases to 10. The effect - 15 hp - does not change. Instead, Bob calculates the cost using the following formula: 2 x 10 x 50 - for a cost of 1000 gp.
Basic Tattoos

Fuse [F]: This special psionic tattoo protects a creature with twenty total tattoos from having them all "go off" when another tattoo is added. When triggered, the fuse fades away in a small wisp of smoke. Doing this causes all of the creature's tattoos to become inert, which disables them from being tapped; they can be moved as normal. If the total number of tattoos falls to below twenty, they return to normal at the end of that round. You can possess more than one fuse; only one is triggered at a time. Should you add another tattoo after a fuse fades away, and if you don't have a second fuse to render it inert, all of your existing tattoos go off. A fuse instantly fades away if moved off your body. A fuse is a special case in that each one uses one third of a slot, so for every three fuses or fraction thereof a single slot is used. Fuses are created as though they were a tattoo of a 1st-level power. Only a 1st-level or higher manifester can create this tattoo. If you have one fuse and wish to add another one or two later, the total of three fuses still equals a single slot.

Relay [R]: This special psionic tattoo links up to three psionic tattoos so that they can be triggered by tapping any one of the linked tattoos. The order in which the tattoos are resolved is set when the relay is scribed. A relay is not instantaneous. The first power triggers at the end of the current round, the second triggers at the end of the next round, and the third tattoo triggers at the end of the round 2 rounds after the relay is triggered. The linked tattoos must all be in close proximity on your body. They are considered a single tattoo for purposes of moving them on your body. Newly scribed tattoos can be attached to an existing relay, provided it is not already attached to another tattoo or relay. A relay instantly fades away if moved off your body. A relay takes a single slot and is created as though it were a tattoo of a 1st-level power. Only a manifester of 3rd-level or higher can create this tattoo.
Special If a Mental Tap is linked to a relay, the first power triggers immediately, but the second power triggers as normal, at the end of the following round.

Integrated Circuit [Ic]: This special elaborate psionic tattoo allows you to change the configuration of the tattoos on your body. Psionic tattoos that state they move with a tattoo they are linked to instead can be separated from each other and moved independently. The separated tattoos can be joined with other tattoos that work in conjunction with each other. Using the circuit to separate or join two tattoos costs 1 power point. Separating or joining tattoos from a relay costs 1 point as well. Newly scribed tattoos can be attached to an existing integrated circuit, provided it is not already attached to another tattoo or relay. Using an integrated circuit does not cause it to fade away. An integrated circuit instantly fades away if moved off your body, and it takes a single slot and is created as though it were a tattoo of a 1st-level power. Only a manifester of 3rd-level or higher can create an integrated circuit. Moving, separating, and joining tattoos are each a separate standard action.

Circuit Breaker [Cb]: This special psionic tattoo protects a psion from the effects that nullify tattoos and overload tattoo powers. If the psion fails a save against one of these powers, the circuit breaker renders all tattoos inert. When triggered, the circuit breaker makes a loud clicking sound. A triggered circuit breaker requires you to spend 3 power points to reset the breaker. Resetting a circuit breaker is a standard action. A circuit breaker instantly fades away if moved off your body. A circuit breaker takes a single slot and is created as though it were a tattoo of a 2nd-level power. Only manifesters of 5th level or higher can create this tattoo.

Mental Tap [Mt]: This psionic tattoo uses a special type of psychoactive ink that responds to mental commands. You can add a mental tap to any one psionic tattoo, or to the tattoos linked via a relay. A psionic tattoo attached to a mental tap can be activated by mental command, treated as a swift action. Using a mental tap counts toward the normal limit of one swift action per round. Newly scribed tattoos can be attached to an existing mental tap, provided it is not already attached to another tattoo or relay. The mental tap does not fade away when used. Mental taps assist you only in tapping your tattoos; an attempt to trigger an unconscious creature's tattoo takes a full-round action as normal. A mental tap instantly fades away if moved off your body. A mental tap takes a single slot and is created as though it were a tattoo of a 2nd-level power. Only manifesters of 5th level or higher can create this tattoo. Mental taps cost more than a standard psionic tattoo because of the special ink involved.
Special: Mental taps may be activated by a Schismed mind, but count as a standard action, not as a swift action.

The cost for a mental tap tattoo includes an extra 500 gp for special materials; the cost to create this tattoo is 650 gp + 12 XP.

Capacitor [C]: This psionic tattoo uses ink made from finely ground and distilled crystal. A capacitor can be linked to a psionic tattoo, or to tattoos linked via a relay. Tattoos linked to a capacitor do not fade away after being tapped provided the capacitor is at full power; otherwise they fade away as normal. Capacitors do not fade away when used. A capacitor recharges at a rate of 1 power point per day and is fully charged when the power points reach the amount needed to manifest the power of the tattoo it is linked to. You start the day with 1 fewer power point per day per capacitor that is charging. Newly scribed tattoos can be attached to an existing capacitor, provided it is not already attached to another tattoo or relay. Capacitors move along with the tattoo they are linked to but instantly fade away if moved off your body. A capacitor takes a single slot and is created as though it were a tattoo of a 3rd-level power. Only manifesters of 7th level or higher can create this tattoo. Capacitors cost more than a standard psionic tattoo because of the special ink involved.

The cost for a capacitor tattoo includes an extra 500 gp for special materials; the cost to create this tattoo is 875 gp + 30 XP.

Transducer [T]: This psionic tattoo uses ink made from finely ground and distilled crystal. A transducer can be linked only to a capacitor and it allows you to spend power points to recharge the capacitor. The capacitor can be recharged at a rate of 1 point for every 2 power points spent this way. Newly scribed tattoos can be attached to an existing transducer, provided it is not already attached to another tattoo or relay. A transducer does not fade away when used. Transducers move along with the capacitor they are linked to but instantly fade away if moved off your body. A transducer takes a single slot and is created as though it were a tattoo of a 3rd-level power. Only 7th-level or higher manifesters can create this tattoo. Transducers cost more than a standard psionic tattoo because of the special ink involved.

The cost for a transducer tattoo includes an extra 500 gp for special materials; the cost to create this tattoo is 875 gp + 30 XP.

Inducer [In]: This psionic tattoo uses ink made from finely ground distilled crystal and psychoactive ink that reacts to a set of preprogrammed directives as though the power stored in the tattoo were affected by the contingency power. You may add an inducer to any psionic tattoo, or to tattoos linked via a relay. A psionic tattoo attached to an inducer automatically triggers when the set of directives have been met. Tattoos attached to an inducer cannot be tapped as normal. The inducer does not fade away when used and newly scribed tattoos can be attached to an existing inducer, provided it is not already attached to another tattoo or relay. An inducer instantly fades away if moved off your body. An inducer takes two slots and is created as though it were a tattoo of a 4th-level power. Only a manifester of 8th level or higher can create this tattoo. Inducers cost more than a standard psionic tattoo because of the special ink involved.

The cost for an amplifier tattoo includes an extra 1,000 gp for special materials; the cost to create this tattoo is 1,700 gp + 56 XP.

Advanced Tattoos

Emitter [E]: This specialized psionic tattoo, usually colorful, intricate, and large, uses many colors of special ink made from finely ground and distilled gemstones and raw ectoplasm. When activated, the tattoo emits psychic energy in the form of nine shimmering, intertwined, multicolored, beams of light. Creatures within a 50 foot radius centered on you that have 8 HD or less are automatically blinded (see blindness/deafness) for 2d4 rounds. All creatures in the area are randomly struck by one or more beams, which have additional effects (see Table 1-2 below). Creatures struck by these beams can make saving throws as listed below. Once used, an emitter instantly fades away. An emitter instantly fades away if moved off your body. An amplifier cannot be applied to an emitter. An emitter takes eleven slots and is created as though it were a tattoo of an 8th-level power. Only a manifester of 17th level or higher can create this tattoo.

The cost for an emitter tattoo includes an extra 2,000 gp for special materials; the cost to create this tattoo is 5,000 gp + 240 XP.

Table 1-2: Emitter Beam Effects

Code:
1d10 Color Effects
1 Red 20 points of fire damage (Reflex half)
2 Orange 40 points of acid damage (Reflex half)
3 Yellow 60 points of sonic damage (Reflex half)
4 Green 80 points of acid damage (Reflex half)
5 Blue 100 points of cold damage (Fort half)
6 Indigo Insane, as [i]Insanity spell (Will negates)
7 Violet 120 points of electricity damage (Reflex half)
8 White Turned to crystal, same as being turned to stone (Fort negates)
9 Silver Sent to the Astral plane (Will negates)
10 -- Struck by two rays; roll again twice ignoring any "10" results
DC for all saves = 22

Psychic Battery [Pb]: This psionic tattoo uses ink made from finely ground and distilled crystal. A battery cannot be linked to any other tattoos. When created, select the number of power points (1-19) to store in the battery. The number selected must be an odd number. The equivalent power level of the tattoo is equal to one half this number (rounded down) for purposes of creation (see Table 1-3 below). The tattoo can be used like a crystal capacitor and suffers the penalties therein. When tapped for power points, the tattoo fades away. Any unused points are lost when the tattoo fades away. Batteries can be moved on your body but instantly fade away if moved off your body. A battery takes a number of slots based on the amount of power stored and its equivalent power level on Table 1-1: Psionic Tattoos, and it is created as a tattoo of the appropriate power level. Only a manifester of 7th level or higher can create this tattoo. Batteries cost more than a standard psionic tattoo because of the special ink involved; 500 gp is applied to both the base cost and the cost of goods.

Table 1-3: Psychic Battery Level Equivalencies

Code:
Power Level
Points Equivalent
1 1
3 1
5 2
7 3
9 4
11 5
13 6
15 7
17 8
19 9

DISCLAIMER: The majority of this content is from the Mind's Eye article linked at the beginning of this thread. Only minor revisions / omissions have been made to said content.


So it is missing psionic combat modes and 0 level powers. Other than that it is basically the same.

Is this "broken" or just helpful is up for debate, but it is, if legal, a nice trick to play two builds that you can change while in combat. Chamleon and feat shuffle cannot make that claim.

[Jack_Simth]

Oh - that reminds me:

Nova-Ink to see hereThere's a fun clause in the Psionic Tattoo rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/psionicTattoos.htm):

Psionic tattoos can vary in size, but a creature can wear only a total of twenty tattoos at one time—attempting to add one more than this maximum causes all previously scribed tattoos to simultaneously activate.(Emphasis added)

To abuse this, you need:
Psicrystal Affinity (or another method of having a second character under your control... but this one is simplest for what we're doing)
20 psionic tattoos
Scribe Tattoo

Preparation:
Have 20 tattoos of assorted buff powers you'll want to trigger all at once on your person.
Scribe a tattoo on your psicrystal.
Put your psicrystal on your person in such a way that it's touching your skin over the normal course of events.

Use:
Have your psicrystal use it's standard action to transfer it's tattoo to you.

This puts you at 21 tattoos, invoking the clause of psionic tattoos that all the previous ones activate.

Congrats - you just set off 20 tattoos on your first round of combat, and you've yet to use your own swift, standard, or move action (you have, however, used your Psicrystal's standard, which may or may not be important). It's as expensive as all get-out, but you suddenly have... oh, Touchsight, Ubiquitous Vision, Darkvision, multiple specified energy adaptations, Biofeedback, (Greater) Concealing Amorpha, Vigor, Inertial Armor, Force Screen, Defensive Precognition, Offensive Precognition, Offensive Prescience, Thicken Skin, multiple Animal Affinities (they're slightly less expensive individually, and we need to pad the count to twenty anyway), or whatever. You can make quite the sudden combatant with all those buffs... and most of those powers are augmentable for greater effect, which can carry through in the tattoos.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Oh - that reminds me:

Nova-Ink to see hereThere's a fun clause in the Psionic Tattoo rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/psionicTattoos.htm):
(Emphasis added)

To abuse this, you need:
Psicrystal Affinity (or another method of having a second character under your control... but this one is simplest for what we're doing)
20 psionic tattoos
Scribe Tattoo

Preparation:
Have 20 tattoos of assorted buff powers you'll want to trigger all at once on your person.
Scribe a tattoo on your psicrystal.
Put your psicrystal on your person in such a way that it's touching your skin over the normal course of events.

Use:
Have your psicrystal use it's standard action to transfer it's tattoo to you.

This puts you at 21 tattoos, invoking the clause of psionic tattoos that all the previous ones activate.

Congrats - you just set off 20 tattoos on your first round of combat, and you've yet to use your own swift, standard, or move action (you have, however, used your Psicrystal's standard, which may or may not be important). It's as expensive as all get-out, but you suddenly have... oh, Touchsight, Ubiquitous Vision, Darkvision, multiple specified energy adaptations, Biofeedback, (Greater) Concealing Amorpha, Vigor, Inertial Armor, Force Screen, Defensive Precognition, Offensive Precognition, Offensive Prescience, Thicken Skin, multiple Animal Affinities (they're slightly less expensive individually, and we need to pad the count to twenty anyway), or whatever. You can make quite the sudden combatant with all those buffs... and most of those powers are augmentable for greater effect, which can carry through in the tattoos.

And hook each of them up to a Cap (via Relays) and they're no longer one-time use. Nice.

Does anyone have a way to get your Psionic Tattoos to recharge faster? That way we can pull the Psyreform/Nova-Ink tricks more than once every few days. Also, if I link a bunch of tattoos together to a Capacitor via Relays, do they all charge at a rate of 1 PP/day, and if so, do you start with x fewer PP/day (where x is the total number of tattoos minus the number of relays minus one for the capacitor, if I have that figured right), or 1 fewer, as in the Capacitor description?

[Cieyrin]

And hook each of them up to a Cap (via Relays) and they're no longer one-time use. Nice.

Does anyone have a way to get your Psionic Tattoos to recharge faster? That way we can pull the Psyreform/Nova-Ink tricks more than once every few days. Also, if I link a bunch of tattoos together to a Capacitor via Relays, do they all charge at a rate of 1 PP/day, and if so, do you start with x fewer PP/day (where x is the total number of tattoos minus the number of relays minus one for the capacitor, if I have that figured right), or 1 fewer, as in the Capacitor description?

If you connect a Capacitor to multiple tattoos via relay, the only thing that happens is the capacitor has a max capacity of the total PPs that the relayed tattoos need to manifest once. The capacitor still only charges 1 PP/day and you're short 1 PP that day because of the recharging capacitor.

[Psyren]

You could just shift to a fast-time plane and chill while your ink comes back online. Sure it'll take you awhile, but from the perspective of the party/plot, not nearly as much,

[classy one]

A transducer connected to a capacitor let's you recharge 1PP by spending 2PP.

Psyreform--[MTap]
I
[C]--[Trd]
now you start the day with one less PP and a Psyreform you can use as a swift action. Once used you can recharge the capacitor with 2PP and do it all over again. Not sure if recharging uses a free action or standard as it doesn't specify.

[Cieyrin]

A transducer connected to a capacitor let's you recharge 1PP by spending 2PP.

Psyreform--[MTap]
I
[C]--[Trd]
now you start the day with one less PP and a Psyreform you can use as a swift action. Once used you can recharge the capacitor with 2PP and do it all over again. Not sure if recharging uses a free action or standard as it doesn't specify.

Speaking of transducers, can a non-psionic character who has a tattoo connected to a capacitor and transducer use a cognizance crystal to recharge their tattoos?

[classy one]

A non psionic PC would have to use an outside source. Nothing about transducers and capacitors state the source of the PP has to be "organic".

On closer review, this trick makes a psion redundant. The psion's main advantage is having a power for every occasion. But now a wilder or ardent (you know, classes with real class features) can pick the best power and feat for the situation rather than specialize. If it can make a psion, a tier 2 class, redundant, it's say it is broken.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

A non psionic PC would have to use an outside source. Nothing about transducers and capacitors state the source of the PP has to be "organic".

On closer review, this trick makes a psion redundant. The psion's main advantage is having a power for every occasion. But now a wilder or ardent (you know, classes with real class features) can pick the best power and feat for the situation rather than specialize. If it can make a psion, a tier 2 class, redundant, it's say it is broken.

The trouble is, Psions get access to discipline powers (of their discipline) for free, that is, without requiring Expanded Knowledge. Not much of an advantage, especially when considering the above PsyReform stuff, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that Psions are redundant.

[Psyren]

The closest you can come to "class features" on an Ardent are the mantle abilities, many of which suck, so they're not too far removed from Psions really.

Wilders have class features (a couple of good ones anyway), but the delayed power progression and truncated list undermine their effectiveness even if you do provide a means to expand their powers known.

Psions also have much better ACFs - though Erudites' are better still.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Yeah, Erudites get some nice ones. I mean, I don't see why anyone would not take a favored discipline(excepting of course those who take the Spell to Power ACF). It's like getting a bunch of EKs for free. Mantled Erudite is alright too, especially with the replacement powers option.

[classy one]

The trouble is, Psions get access to discipline powers (of their discipline) for free, that is, without requiring Expanded Knowledge. Not much of an advantage, especially when considering the above PsyReform stuff, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that Psions are redundant.

Unless you have a need to cast 15 different powers in one encounter I'd say a psion's expansive list is rather redundant.
Psions DO still have 9th level discipline powers that cannot be acquired by EK.


The closest you can come to "class features" on an Ardent are the mantle abilities, many of which suck, so they're not too far removed from Psions really.

Wilders have class features (a couple of good ones anyway), but the delayed power progression and truncated list undermine their effectiveness even if you do provide a means to expand their powers known.

Hey now some of ardent's mantles are pretty darn cool. Fate mantle gives you a free action point that provides more bonus than a real action point. Time mantle gives you a passive bonus on init and timeless body. Then there are powers that are exclusive to Ardents as well, although psions could just select it with their plentiful feats.
Wilders lag behind by one level. This is because with wild surge, a wilder is basically (at least) one ML higher 70-95% of the time. When you put it like that it's simply a balancing mechanism.

[Psyren]

Hey now some of ardent's mantles are pretty darn cool.


...And some flat suck, which is what I said. All four alignment mantle abilities are a joke past first level, and what were they thinking with Creation, Death, Force, Natural World...?

I never said they were all bad... but it becomes really apparent when it's hard to find the powers you want in a better mantle, you can't/don't want to spend the EK feats learning them, and you have to wait two levels to get the one you want because EK demands powers you learn to be below your maximum. It's just a pain is all.


Wilders lag behind by one level. This is because with wild surge, a wilder is basically (at least) one ML higher 70-95% of the time. When you put it like that it's simply a balancing mechanism.

And the Psion isn't? He at least has the feats to spend on Overchannel + Talented. Sure the latter stops protecting him at 3rd-level powers, but there's tons of powers at that level and lower that stay good throughout his career, e.g. Inertial Armor, Vigor, Time Hop, Dispel Psionics etc.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

And the Psion isn't? He at least has the feats to spend on Overchannel + Talented. Sure the latter stops protecting him at 3rd-level powers, but there's tons of powers at that level and lower that stay good throughout his career, e.g. Inertial Armor, Vigor, Time Hop, Dispel Psionics etc.

And honestly, with Share Pain + Vigor up, the damage is pretty trivial. It'll add up, sure, but not every power needs to be overclocked to be effective.

[Kyouhen]

Now a thought about the tattoo explosion thing. Would that still work if you used crawling tattoos? Could I make 20 crawling tattoos for myself, then have all of them trigger to tacnuke whoever happens to be annoying me?

[Jack_Simth]

Now a thought about the tattoo explosion thing. Would that still work if you used crawling tattoos? Could I make 20 crawling tattoos for myself, then have all of them trigger to tacnuke whoever happens to be annoying me?
Only if you annoy yourself.

Edit: That needs some elaboration.

See, all the tattoos go off affecting the person who's wearing them. Crawling Tattoos, well... they're *usually* hostile spells (although sometimes they're used for ranged combat stabilization).

[Endarire]

AzuRecharge
Requires: Azure Talent Feat (Magic of Incarnum 34), Psycarnum Infusion Feat (Magic of Incarnum 40), 13 CON, Concentration 4 ranks

Method: Use Psycarnum Infusion to spend your psionic focus and fake using Azure Talent. Gain 2 PP*. Regain your psionic focus. Repeat as desired.

You NEED at least 1PP to have psionic focus; thus, you need at least 1PP when you begin recharging.

*Technically, you gain PP equal to twice the invested essentia, and two more if you can bind a soulmend to your crown chakra. I assume you're investing as little as practical into this setup.

NOTE: Azure Talent has no mention of what action it requires to use. I assume a free action.

Minimum Level: 1

ACMA and ACME - Full Text
These are the only range limits I've found for manifesting astral construct (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/astralconstruct.htm):
-The construct must be made within Close range.
-The construct can't appear inside another creature or object. (Metacreativity disicipline limitation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#metacreativity).)
-I must have line of effect to the target area.

Because of this, I see every reason to allow Astral Construct Power Armor. Here's how:
-Manifest an astral construct of at least your size category. It must be big enough to cover you completely, but I assume you can fit snugly or comfortably inside. I advise making small holes on the face for breathing and seeing, and holes in the hands through which to use touch powers and rays.
-Mentally direct it.to act as you wish. You did give it all the transportation modes you needed, right?

Power Armor: Allies and Mounts
You can manifest this 'power armor' on your allies as well. They'd go on your initiative and use the STR and DEX scores of the construct while being able to act normally. Effectively, the construct is a mount that surrounds the target instead of merely staying under the target.

Yes, this allows you to turn normal mounts (horses, ponies, force dragons...) into power armored mounts.

Here's how to make a larger power armor than your size category.
-Fly, levitate, or otherwise hover in the place you want to be when your power armor appears. I recommend near the face or in a specifically-crafted hole in the construct.

Optional:
-Watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgQhyquS9Ms) and pay special attention to 0:16. Start singing at 0:20.

Astral Construct as a No-Save-Just-Lose Power
With no save and no power resistance, you can make such "power armor" to encase your foes. They'll probably get a STR check to override the AC's actions, and they can teleport out, but an Astral Construct Mobile Encaser seems like an awesome use for this power!

Skin of the Construct
PS: The feat Skin of the Construct (Complete Psionic 57) is worse once you realize how you can use astral construct by the rules.

[Kyouhen]

Only if you annoy yourself.

Edit: That needs some elaboration.

See, all the tattoos go off affecting the person who's wearing them. Crawling Tattoos, well... they're *usually* hostile spells (although sometimes they're used for ranged combat stabilization).

Oh, whoops, I see how it works now. I thought crawling tattoos were just tattoos that could affect an enemy. Didn't realize they were able to keep attacking. :smallredface:

[Kalaska'Agathas]

AzuRecharge
Requires: Azure Talent Feat (Magic of Incarnum 34), Psycarnum Infusion Feat (Magic of Incarnum 40), 13 CON, Concentration 4 ranks

Method: Use Psycarnum Infusion to spend your psionic focus and fake using Azure Talent. Gain 2 PP*. Regain your psionic focus. Repeat as desired.

You NEED at least 1PP to have psionic focus; thus, you need at least 1PP when you begin recharging.

*Technically, you gain PP equal to twice the invested essentia, and two more if you can bind a soulmend to your crown chakra. I assume you're investing as little as practical into this setup.

NOTE: Azure Talent has no mention of what action it requires to use. I assume a free action.

Minimum Level: 1

ACMA and ACME - Full Text
These are the only range limits I've found for manifesting astral construct (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/astralconstruct.htm):
-The construct must be made within Close range.
-The construct can't appear inside another creature or object. (Metacreativity disicipline limitation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#metacreativity).)
-I must have line of effect to the target area.

Because of this, I see every reason to allow Astral Construct Power Armor. Here's how:
-Manifest an astral construct of at least your size category. It must be big enough to cover you completely, but I assume you can fit snugly or comfortably inside. I advise making small holes on the face for breathing and seeing, and holes in the hands through which to use touch powers and rays.
-Mentally direct it.to act as you wish. You did give it all the transportation modes you needed, right?

Power Armor: Allies and Mounts
You can manifest this 'power armor' on your allies as well. They'd go on your initiative and use the STR and DEX scores of the construct while being able to act normally. Effectively, the construct is a mount that surrounds the target instead of merely staying under the target.

Yes, this allows you to turn normal mounts (horses, ponies, force dragons...) into power armored mounts.

Here's how to make a larger power armor than your size category.
-Fly, levitate, or otherwise hover in the place you want to be when your power armor appears. I recommend near the face or in a specifically-crafted hole in the construct.

Optional:
-Watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgQhyquS9Ms) and pay special attention to 0:16. Start singing at 0:20.

Astral Construct as a No-Save-Just-Lose Power
With no save and no power resistance, you can make such "power armor" to encase your foes. They'll probably get a STR check to override the AC's actions, and they can teleport out, but an Astral Construct Mobile Encaser seems like an awesome use for this power!

Skin of the Construct
PS: The feat Skin of the Construct (Complete Psionic 57) is worse once you realize how you can use astral construct by the rules.

Why do you assume that the AzuRecharge takes a free action? I thought when in doubt it's a standard action was the rule. That said, you'll get (assuming Psicrystal Containment and Psionic Meditation and that Psycarnum Infusion/Azure Talent only take a free action) you'll be getting 4 PP a round, if you use your standard and move to refocus. That's pretty good, actually, 40 PP/minute. Of course, you'll have to be carried/dragged...

[Radar]

Why do you assume that the AzuRecharge takes a free action? I thought when in doubt it's a standard action was the rule. That said, you'll get (assuming Psicrystal Containment and Psionic Meditation and that Psycarnum Infusion/Azure Talent only take a free action) you'll be getting 4 PP a round, if you use your standard and move to refocus. That's pretty good, actually, 40 PP/minute. Of course, you'll have to be carried/dragged...
Astral Construct power armor solves the problem - those are controlled with a free action. :smallcool:

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Astral Construct power armor solves the problem - those are controlled with a free action. :smallcool:

Yeah, or you could use the Move by Wire trick to have your Psicrystal move your meditating body.

[Hyfigh]

Why do you assume that the AzuRecharge takes a free action? I thought when in doubt it's a standard action was the rule. That said, you'll get (assuming Psicrystal Containment and Psionic Meditation and that Psycarnum Infusion/Azure Talent only take a free action) you'll be getting 4 PP a round, if you use your standard and move to refocus. That's pretty good, actually, 40 PP/minute. Of course, you'll have to be carried/dragged...

Think of it as the standard MMO-style "meditate for more mana" =P

I'd like to see some of the Kalashtar tricks added. I'm honestly not very familiar with, really, any of them. It's an embarassing point for me to mention because I consider myself an optomizer... :smallredface:

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Think of it as the standard MMO-style "meditate for more mana" =P

I'd like to see some of the Kalashtar tricks added. I'm honestly not very familiar with, really, any of them. It's an embarassing point for me to mention because I consider myself an optomizer... :smallredface:

I too consider myself an optimizer, and this is the first I've heard of them, so don't feel too bad.

[Endarire]

Kala, you can still take a 5' step on a turn when using a full-round action. It's a slow movement, but that's why you use the ACMA trick I described.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Yeah, or as previously mentioned you can move yourself with the Move by Wire trick or the ACMA trick.

Also, I've added Garryl's Casual Disconcern for the Action Economy.

[Jack_Simth]

At this point, I think we're at a point where it'd be rather useful to nest spoilers, based on category - "Time Out!" for things that make the action economy cry; "Swimming in Power" for the assorted recharge methods; "I am Superman!" for things that seriously increase your durability, and so on.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

At this point, I think we're at a point where it'd be rather useful to nest spoilers, based on category - "Time Out!" for things that make the action economy cry; "Swimming in Power" for the assorted recharge methods; "I am Superman!" for things that seriously increase your durability, and so on.

Yeah, I've kinda been meaning to do that, but had essays and such. I'll get to work on it this weekend. I'll of course post a proposed version before making any such changes. What would you recommend I do for those which straddle categories?

[Jack_Simth]

Yeah, I've kinda been meaning to do that, but had essays and such. I'll get to work on it this weekend. I'll of course post a proposed version before making any such changes. What would you recommend I do for those which straddle categories?
Double them up. It's a pretty quick Copy/Paste operation.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

I'll get on the organization in a couple of days (still recovering from the festivities am I). In the meantime, I've added Nijineko's Steal Steel Trick, and I'm pretty sure Psyren said he's got a trick to add too.

Also, I have a question about the answers of the Sage. Are they RAW? Because if they aren't, Supernatural Transformation is the Psychic's favorite feat ever. This is of course because manifesting is specifically called out as being a (Psi) ability, which means that it can be made into a (Su) ability, which means you don't need to pay XP costs, worry about Dispells or SR/PR, ever again. And you don't need to take Practiced Manifester, as it sets your manifester level off your total hit dice. Of course, the Sage said that "Innate Spell Like Abilities" means those gained from race or template, not class, but if this isn't RAW then...

I would of course file that particular trick under T.O.

[Jack_Simth]

Also, I have a question about the answers of the Sage. Are they RAW?
1: No, they're not.

Because if they aren't, Supernatural Transformation is the Psychic's favorite feat ever. This is of course because manifesting is specifically called out as being a (Psi) ability,
2: You're confusing Spell-like abilities with Psionic ability, sorry.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

1: No, they're not.

2: You're confusing Spell-like abilities with Psionic ability, sorry.

According to the SRD, you may use feats that apply to Spell-like abilities to your Psi-like abilities (see "Psi-like Abilities and Feats" (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/monsters/overview.htm)). And, also according to the SRD, manifesting a psionic power is considered a Psi-like Ability (see "Special Abilities" subsection "Psi-Like Abilities (Ps)" (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm)) which means that one's manifesting ability is a valid target for the feat. A cheesy, broken target, but a valid one. Unless you go by the Sage's advice.

[Ranger Mattos]

Not mine, but Majere Corax Crystalblaze (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19864042/AD_Presents:_The_most_powerful_character._AFTER) is basically Pun-Pun, but less reptilian and more psionic.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Not mine, but Majere Corax Crystalblaze (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19864042/AD_Presents:_The_most_powerful_character._AFTER) is basically Pun-Pun, but less reptilian and more psionic.

I'll check it out.

Oh, and I've added the Suck it Wizards, (Su) Psi and You trick, with the disclaimer that it verges on T.O.

[Aharon]

What about my "You can't touch me" contribution?
Too weak, a flaw in it, or you intend to only include fully 3.0 stuff?

(sorry for bringing this up, but I was rather proud of my creation :smalltongue:)

[classy one]

What about my "You can't touch me" contribution?
Too weak, a flaw in it, or you intend to only include fully 3.0 stuff?

(sorry for bringing this up, but I was rather proud of my creation :smalltongue:)

Don't feel bad my psionic tattoo of Psyreform wasn't posted either.

What is confusing is how something like Tiny Von largeMcHuge was put up when it requires a houserule to work. Just goes to show that what is included is rather arbitrary so don't take it personal.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

What about my "You can't touch me" contribution?
Too weak, a flaw in it, or you intend to only include fully 3.0 stuff?

(sorry for bringing this up, but I was rather proud of my creation :smalltongue:)


Don't feel bad my psionic tattoo of Psyreform wasn't posted either.

What is confusing is how something like Tiny Von largeMcHuge was put up when it requires a houserule to work. Just goes to show that what is included is rather arbitrary so don't take it personal.

I'm sorry! I'll try and get to them, editing this thread and the thread at BG has been a lot of work. It's good though, lots of good tricks. And classy one, I think yours got subsumed into the link to the "Getting Re-Wired (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=4319.0)" handbook (which I have yet to add, of course) if that's all right.

[Psyren]

*Checks the expiration date*
Yep, still fresh.

Here's a small trick for Wilders and Metaminds.

Power Surge
You will need:

- Wild Surge +3 or Font of Power
- Bestow Power (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/bestowPower.htm)
- [recommended] A Torc of PP Preservation
- [optional] A psionic cohort or party member

Summary
This tricks lets you generate infinite power points - either to recharge your own reserve or someone else's. As a Metamind, your ability to do this is more limited and comes online much later, but is also more reliable.

Method
As a Wilder:
1) Manifest Bestow Power, targeting yourself.
2) Wild Surge +3, paying for one augmentation.
3) If successful, you will have spent 3 points and gained 4, before any PP reduction e.g. Torc of PP or Earth Power.
4) Repeat as needed to refill your PP reserve. (but see "Psychic Enervation" below.)

As a Metamind:
1) Pour all your remaining PP into cognizance crystals, or Bestow it to your party members when they run low.
2) Activate Font of Power
3) Manifest Bestow Power, targeting whoever needs it (starting with you), augmented as high as you can.
4) Repeat (3) until everyone is recharged or FoP ends ten rounds later.

Special: Place an Affinity Field on yourself, and you can refill your own reserve and that of the entire party simultaneously.

Sidebar: Psychic Enervation
The Wild Surge method can be done earlier (level 7) but carries with it the risk of psychic enervation - the chance that your attempt to recharge is cancelled out by all the PP you lose. We can use the mean probability formula to determine how many PP this trick will gain you on average.

If you Wild Surge +3, your chance of enervation is 15%, or 0.15. If you enervate, you will lose PP = to your wilder level. Therefore, at level 7, the outcome will be:

(net PP gained w/o enervation)(chance of success) + (net PP lost w/ enervation)(chance of failure)

= (1)(0.85) + (-6)(0.15) = -0.05 before PP reduction. (On average you gain nothing, and actually end up worse off if you do this 20 or more times.)

With PP reduction = 1 it becomes:
= (2)(0.85) + (-5)(0.15) = +0.95, now on average you gain PP.
With PP reduction >= 2 you no longer need Wild Surge and can instead just Bestow Power yourself directly with no chance of failure.

This is why PP reduction helps the trick work reliably, but you can still refill others without it - the PP you lose from enervating won't be taken from their total.


Also, Anarchic Initiate's Wild Surge
This is not so much a trick as it is an observation; the Psychic Enervation of the Anarchic Initiate is superior to the Wilder version by RAW. This is because the AI Enervation says "see the Wilder class feature, XPH pg. 31" and the Wilder enervation says "you lose PP equal to your Wilder level." Therefore, your AI levels are not counted by RAW. This means that a Psion/AI would suffer only the daze effect of PE, losing no PP; or a Wilder/AI would lose less PP than normal.

PE still sucks thanks to daze, but I just thought this was interesting enough to mention here.

[Jack_Simth]

*Checks the expiration date*
Yep, still fresh.

Here's a small trick for Wilders and Metaminds.

Power Surge

Refinement: Enervation Endurance, Complete Psionics. Cuts the enervation penalty in half, making it much more feasible.

Going back to your equation:
(net PP gained w/o enervation)(chance of success) + (net PP lost w/ enervation)(chance of failure)

= (1)(0.85) + ((-7/2)+1)(0.15) = +1.525


Edit:
Oh yes, and do note that many techniques in this thread can be combined - if you're doing a 'mad minute' by way of Leadership and a Psionic Cohort, there's nothing in particular preventing you from having two or more follower Psion-3's with Bestow Power feeding the gestalt power points to run everything (each iteration: Psion-3a feeds Bestow Power to the Affinity Field guy (3 point cost to Psion-3a, 2 point gain to everyone); Psion-3b feeds Bestow Power to the Affinity Field guy (3 point cost to Psion-3b, 2 point gain to everyone) - at this stage, most have gone up 4 power points, the two Psion-3's have gone up 1 each. Affinity-field guy then manifests Synchronicity (Augmented to 3 points), giving everyone an action. Cohort blasts.

[Psyren]

Refinement: Enervation Endurance, Complete Psionics. Cuts the enervation penalty in half, making it much more feasible.

Going back to your equation:
(net PP gained w/o enervation)(chance of success) + (net PP lost w/ enervation)(chance of failure)

= (1)(0.85) + ((-7/2)+1)(0.15) = +1.525

I forgot that feat! Nice catch :smallsmile:

Sadly, it still gets worse as you level, mandating that you PrC out of Wilder at 7. (Most WotC Wilders do this anyway though.) The torc and feat also stack.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Alright, I've added Power Surge.

[Godskook]

The "Shards of Leadership" trick isn't in the first post. Did it get rejected, or lost to the 'middle pages'?

[Kalaska'Agathas]

The "Shards of Leadership" trick isn't in the first post. Did it get rejected, or lost to the 'middle pages'?

Lost, sorry. Was that the nested Leadership trick?

[Godskook]

Lost, sorry. Was that the nested Leadership trick?

Yeah, takes two parts:

Part 1 gets you an infinite number of level 17 psionic cohorts.

Part 2 requires a few items, but well within pre-epic WBL, and that makes the jump into epic leadership, and eventually, itemless degenerate recursion.

[Jack_Simth]

Figured out how to do the Wight Thing without a Wight: Suicide

Suicide
This fuctions as normal for "Do the Wight Thing", but instead of using a Wight or some other level-draining critter, you use Fission (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/fission.htm), and kill your duplicate - giving you a negative level, which you leave until it becomes real level loss. Then continue with Do the Wight Thing as normal

Oh, and if you want to change your shape, in a way that can't be dispelled:

Diamonds are Forever

This requires you really, really lose a level (Restoration won't help), as it's by death. But the way it works is as follows:
1) Get the form with abilities you want (whether that's by Mind Switch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/mindSwitch.htm), Metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm), or any other method.
2) While in said form, manifest Astral Seed (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/astralSeed.htm)
3) Let the method of switching forms expire.
4) Kill yourself.
5) Make a new body from your astral seed - which is "a living, breathing body that is an exact duplicate of your body at the time you manifested astral seed (the crystal itself breaks down and becomes a part of the new organic body). When the tenth day ends, you completely and totally inhabit the new body. You possess all the abilities you possessed when astral seed was manifested, at one level lower, but you have none of your equipment."

Congrats - it cost you a level, but hey: Instant change of shape. If you're an Egoist-17 with Greater Metamorphosis, this lets you get Supernatural abilities, too.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Ok, I added Shards of Leadership, Suicide, and Diamonds are Forever.

Is there a way to reduce the level of a power (similar to Sanctum Spell) such that I could get a 9th level power to be effectively 3rd level (to share it via Affinity Field)?

[Psyren]

Is there a way to reduce the level of a power (similar to Sanctum Spell) such that I could get a 9th level power to be effectively 3rd level (to share it via Affinity Field)?

Not that I know of - and boy, would Erudites love that one if there were a way. Even lowering discipline powers to 8th-level would make them learnable (e.g. Metafaculty.)

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Not that I know of - and boy, would Erudites love that one if there were a way. Even lowering discipline powers to 8th-level would make them learnable (e.g. Metafaculty.)

Absolutely. I'm trying to get Psychic Chirurgery down to 3rd level to share it via Affinity field, to teach a group of psychics powers at effectively reduced cost.

[FMArthur]

I'm pretty sure Erudites are the only ones (except for Ardents with certain powers) who can use power stones from two disciplines without Expanded Knowledge, due to power stone usage having somewhat different requirements than scroll usage.

This is actually important for being able to Astral Seed + Mind Switch at a lower level than 15th or 17th level. As a joke I often put together silly Beholder Mage builds in threads that ask for maximum non-infinite optimization, partly because I can never get over how disgustingly powerful the class is - even its intended DM usage makes for the most preposterously overpowering encounter short of "rocks fall, everyone dies". The methods for doing so usually involve PAO and can be entered at second level using Savage Species content or more commonly at 6th level using only 3.5 content, requiring a psionic class and the psionic feat Metamorphic Transfer.

However, a PAO Beholder Mage has to take a Beholder's Int score and is easily dealt with (relatively speaking) using dispelling, antimagic and other similar effects. An Erudite can get in at around 11th level using Mind Switch and Astral Seed manifested from psionic power stones - with his own Int score, as an irreversible transformation, and without anyone whining about how confused they are on how PAO works (meaning of "original form", made-up stuff about inherited hit dice, etc.). Mind Switch is very explicitly detailed, and Astral Seed allows this to work by specifically mentioning the combination working (even though, hilariously, it really wouldn't work if they hadn't mentioned it).

Using Metamorphosis + Astral Seed loses you a level and is on somewhat shaky ground - returning to an exact duplicate of the body you had at the time probably includes having the same remaining durations on the buffs you had at the time of casting. Some might allow it to work, some might not, but when powergaming as hard as you can it's best to get the most solid foundation possible for your glorious tower of cheese.

[sreservoir]

incidentally, are there any ways to reduce the cost of powers other than the now-useless torc, which don't require a particular constitution score?

[Psyren]

incidentally, are there any ways to reduce the cost of powers other than the now-useless torc, which don't require a particular constitution score?

Nope; Both Earth Power and Incarnum require constitution.

Wild Surge pays for your augments, so that can work somewhat.

Or you can just not use the MiC Torc. Sure it's been updated, but since it's not OGL you have the perfect excuse to ignore it. (Same with the CPsi Astral Construct.)

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Yeah, I tend to selectively use material from Complete Psionic (ignoring, for example, the "Powers are subject to DR" nonsense and the aforementioned Astral Construct nerf) so I see no reason to not do the same with the Magic Item Compendium. Of course, your mileage may vary.

[Psyren]

"Powers are subject to DR" isn't actually bad; it refers specifically to powers that do typed physical damage (slashing, piercing or bludgeoning) e.g. Crystal Shard/Swarm of Crystals.

SoC is particularly deadly because it is one of the few effects in the game that has no save, no SR, and no attack roll. You cover a square, and the enemy (or enemies) takes it, end of story. DR does help with that.

It is also worth noting that this rule has carried over to Pathfinder, so you'll probably want to familiarize yourself with it anyway.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Did they? That's unfortunate. I had some misgivings about Dreamscarred Press' treatment of Psionics during the beta phase, mainly they seemed to be getting less than the mages did in their updated form. I do like that they finally gave Metamind a 7/10 progression, and I like what they've done with the Slayer.

[sreservoir]

in any case, metalinked 1st-level powers effectively lower the cost of a 2nd or higher-level power by 1, and also do something else, at the low, low cost of psionic focus and a delaying the effect by a turn.

linked power is also incredible fun on erudites, where it bypasses the entire UPD issue for utility spells.

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Does it, though? You still manifest the power, so I'd think you'd still count it against your unique powers per level per day. Though if I could manifest a hustle linked to something from someone else's repertoire, maybe then...

[sreservoir]

Does it, though? You still manifest the power, so I'd think you'd still count it against your unique powers per level per day. Though if I could manifest a hustle linked to something from someone else's repertoire, maybe then...

eh, you're still getting less PP spent and a free synchronicity or whatever.

incidentally, variation of the suicide variation of Do the Wight Thing: instead of killing your duplicate, kill yourself. then you have that xp available after the duration ends, instead of having to wait 24 hours. if you want, you can wait 24h, get more xp, and cast restoration twice, but just fissioning again is more efficient. did I miss anything?

[Jack_Simth]

incidentally, variation of the suicide variation of Do the Wight Thing: instead of killing your duplicate, kill yourself. then you have that xp available after the duration ends, instead of having to wait 24 hours. if you want, you can wait 24h, get more xp, and cast restoration twice, but just fissioning again is more efficient. did I miss anything?
And it's dismissable, so you can make it work even faster than that if needed. Nifty.

[Psyren]

The way to get around UPD is to have another manifester (preferably a Wilder) pull the utility powers out of your head. This is why if you're the only manifester in the party and you don't have Leadership/Thrallherd, you're probably better off as a Psion.

(If you can be a Thrallherd, be a Wilder; then recruit an Erudite.)

[sreservoir]

The way to get around UPD is to have another manifester (preferably a Wilder) pull the utility powers out of your head. This is why if you're the only manifester in the party and you don't have Leadership/Thrallherd, you're probably better off as a Psion.

(If you can be a Thrallherd, be a Wilder; then recruit an Erudite.)

out of curiousity, why particularly a wilder? I don't see why a wilder would be better at this.

[Jack_Simth]

out of curiousity, why particularly a wilder? I don't see why a wilder would be better at this.
My initial reaction is so that you can use Wild Surge with other people's powers.

[Psyren]

out of curiousity, why particularly a wilder? I don't see why a wilder would be better at this.

They compliment each other nicely - the Wilder has few powers known of his own, but can augment yours for free, saving both of you PP. Furthermore: as you are the Int-based caster, chances are the party has lore covered and will want a "face" instead of another Psion.

[Psyren]

Bump with a trick I wanted to share.

Erudite Concerto


This trick lets level 11+ Erudites circumvent their UPD limitation.

You will need:
- A Psicrystal with Wild/Hidden Talent, or a psionic cohort
- Metaconcert (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metaconcert.htm)
- Metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm)

Method:
1) The save-game trick reminded me of this caveat: you need to metamorph your psicrystal into somethng that isn't immune to mind-affecting. (While you're at it, you can also make it Fine for the AC boost/portability.)
2) Manifest Metaconcert, targeting yourself and your friend/pet rock.
3) Use the entity created to manifest any utility powers you need.

Because the entity manifests the powers, and knows every power you know, you are able to access your entire library without adding to your UPD count (you are not actually manifesting them yourself.)

It is unclear whether the entity gets its own set of actions or must use those of the conductor. If the latter, simply make your psicrystal the conductor so that you can keep manifesting as needed.

Notes:
1) This can only be done solo if your psicrystal gets feats (they are not psionic by default, but Wild Talent makes them that way.) This is RAW, but some DMs do not like this. Without it, you will need a cohort or party member.
2) This is not always suitable for combat. Metaconcert takes a minute to cast (10 rounds) and only lasts minutes/level, so ideally you will already be in one when a fight starts if you need your repertoire that much.
3) You can get around the movement speed reduction; RAW it only applies "if you move as a group." So tell your psicrystal not to move, put it in your pocket, and move as normal.


EDIT: Forgot an important step (see above.)

[Jack_Simth]

Which One's Mine, again? (AKA, Body-Hopping for keeps)

Now, this does have a couple of Requirements:

Ability to manifest Mind Switch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/mindSwitch.htm) (11th level for Telepaths)
Nothing interferes for the four or more rounds you're doing this.
You can avoid DM wrath.
"Original bodies" as listed in the Mind Switch power refers to 'before this manifestation of Mind Switch', rather than 'absolute original'.
The current inhabitant of a body is considered the participant of the power when a given Mind Switch is dispelled.


Definitions:
BT: Body-Target: Body you want:
MT: Mind-Target: Mind you want to dispose of, that starts out inhabiting BT
BP: Body-Patsy: Body of someone you don't care about.
MP: Mind-Patsy: Mind of someone you don't care about, that starts out inhabiting BP.
BO: Body-Original: Body you start out with.
MO: Mind-Original: Your mind, that starts out inhabiting BO.

Method:
1) Manifest Mind Switch on BT, putting MT in BO, and MO in BT.
2) Manifest Mind Switch on BP, putting MP in BT, and MO in BP
3) Manifest Dispel Psionics on BO, undoing switch one. As currently, MP is in BT, and MT is in BO, that puts MT in BT and MP in BO
4) Manifest Dispel Psionics on BP, undoing switch two. As currently, MO is in BP, and MT is in BT, MO is returned to BT, and MT is 'returned' to BP.

Result: MO (You) are in BT (Body Target). MT (Mind of target) is in BP (Body of Patsy). MP (Mind of Patsy) is in BO (your original body).

Notes: The actual power description does support requirement 3 and 4 somewhat:
If one participant’s body becomes petrified, imprisoned by temporal stasis or imprisonment, or incapacitated in some other way, the other participant will be incapacitated in that way when the power ends.

Additionally, 'breaking' requirement 3 lets you arrange to have multiple people inhabiting the same body simultaneously (Chain Mind Switch, then dispel the most recent), so that's something you probably want to avoid as a DM anyway. 1 and 2 I can't help you with.



As for what to get?
Depends on what you want.

You've got 1/2 BAB still (usually), so you likely don't want a specific combat form. So you likely want defense (DR, Regen, Natural Armor, Ex invisibility, Immunity to Magic, et cetera) or utility abilities (Fly speed, burrow speed, climb speed, racial skill bonuses, et cetera).

A Will O Wisp (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/willOWisp.htm) has Ex invisibility (regular invisibility) at will, Magic Immunity, Fly 50 (Perfect), a really good Dex score (29!), and a +9 Deflection bonus to AC (no source - presumed Ex).
Not a bad choice, generally.

If you're Evil, primarily fighting good-aligned opponents, then a Planetar has SR 30, Regeneration 10 Evil, some minor elemental resistances, and Fly 90 (Good) (A Solar is markedly better, but with 22 hit dice, is harder to get).

If you're Good, primarily fighting evil-aligned opponents, then a Horned Devil has SR 28, Regeneration 5 (Good and Silver weapons, Good Spells), Fly 50 (Average), and a few other nifties (A Pit Fiend is better, although it's CR 20 and has 18 hit dice, so might be out of reach).

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Bump with a trick I wanted to share.

Erudite Concerto


Beautiful. Quite possibly your Magnum Opus, at least in this genera.

Edit: Lycanthromancer recommends linking Metaconcert to something else, to make it practical in combat. Manifest this round, metaconcert next round.

[sreservoir]

Bump with a trick I wanted to share.

Erudite Concerto


This trick lets level 9+ Erudites circumvent their UPD limitation.

You will need:
- A Psicrystal with Wild/Hidden Talent, or a psionic cohort
- Metaconcert (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metaconcert.htm)
- Metamorphosis (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/metamorphosis.htm)

Method:
1) The save-game trick reminded me of this caveat: you need to metamorph your psicrystal into somethng that isn't immune to mind-affecting. (While you're at it, you can also make it Fine for the AC boost/portability.)
2) Manifest Metaconcert, targeting yourself and your friend/pet rock.
3) Use the entity created to manifest any utility powers you need.

Because the entity manifests the powers, and knows every power you know, you are able to access your entire library without adding to your UPD count (you are not actually manifesting them yourself.)

It is unclear whether the entity gets its own set of actions or must use those of the conductor. If the latter, simply make your psicrystal the conductor so that you can keep manifesting as needed.

Notes:
1) This can only be done solo if your psicrystal gets feats (they are not psionic by default, but Wild Talent makes them that way.) This is RAW, but some DMs do not like this. Without it, you will need a cohort or party member.
2) This is not always suitable for combat. Metaconcert takes a minute to cast (10 rounds) and only lasts minutes/level, so ideally you will already be in one when a fight starts if you need your repertoire that much.
3) You can get around the movement speed reduction; RAW it only applies "if you move as a group." So tell your psicrystal not to move, put it in your pocket, and move as normal.


EDIT: Forgot an important step (see above.)

I think you'll need level 11, unless you use favored discipline.

[Analytica]

As for the save game trick, isn't there a slightly simpler version you could do, in the vein of Methods of Rationality (http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/1/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality)?

1 - Tell your pricrystal, or whatever creature, that if, when it emerges into the future, you fail to be there to greet it, something is wrong. If so, it must return to the start of its turn.
2 - Manifest Forced Dream on the probe creature. Decide that you will use strategy A to handle whatever problem you will next embark on, and decide that after you do so, you will make sure to be back in time to greet the probe creature as it emerges. Note that Forced Dream has several turns worth of time remaining.
3 - Ready an action to manifest Mass Time Hop on the probe creature once its turn has started, assuming that Forced Dream, as it should, is still active by that time.
4 - Start of probe creature's turn.
5 - Manifest Mass Time Hop on probe creature if Forced Dream is still active.
6 - Go out adventuring.
7 - Meet up with the probe creature and happily tell it of your successes.
8 - Take probe creature for ice cream.

If adventuring fails, you won't be there to meet the probe creature. This means that it will decide, using a swift action in its turn, to revert to 4, so that at 4, Forced Dream will end. This means that, at 5, you will not manifest Mass Time Hop. Instead you will know that plan A will have failed, or that following plan A, you will not come to hold by your decision to return for the probe creature. You can then start over from 1 again, under plan B instead, and so on, as many times as you can manifest Forced Dream.

Note that Forced Dream recalls restore everything the way it was except for Forced Dream duration and power points. This seems to include memories. So under any scenario, no one will know how plan A failed. However, you can test a variety of plans this way.

It does get slightly problematic though. This means that if Forced Dream fails to terminate early, either you WILL have succeeded, meaning the DM might have to fudge dice rolls to avoid creating a time paradox, or resort to the only other stable sequence of events: something waits for the probe creature and disables it before it can take its swift action to return.

Note also that, under some interpretations, a psicrystal's existence is contingent on yours, so that a time probe psicrystal would deactivate if it emerged into a future where you were not there, and so would be unable to use a swift action to return. Because of this, something other than a psicrystal or an astral construct might be a better choice, perhaps a follower?

I would also point out a semi-dirty trick. Not so much a trick maybe, as a potentially powerful strategy. There is a wondrous item in Lords of Madness called a brain canister. Under MIC creation rules, you can make one as a universal item using psionics, costing some 25000 gp. It stores the brain of a creature, which you kill by removing it, in a canister. Illithids use it to transport dead illithids back to the Elder Brains, for food storage, or for keeping brains close that they can then probe telepathically. The brain is unconscious and passive.

Learn to make this item. Then kill psions, for maximum irony, illithids. Place their brains in canisters. You can then use thieving mindlink on the brains to borrow powers they know. For optimal efficiency, create a greater third eye of powerthieve, with no uses/day limitation. Perhaps limit it for flavour to be useful only against brains in canisters. Keep a library of defeated psionic foes in canisters in a bag of holding. Whenever you need a power, thieving mindlink it for free using the third eye. Bonus points for skull shaped canisters, taking up another skull from the bag, staring into its eyes like Hamlet, prince of Denmark, while your third eye flares, then proceed to make use of the knowledge.

[Jack_Simth]

I would also point out a semi-dirty trick. Not so much a trick maybe, as a potentially powerful strategy. There is a wondrous item in Lords of Madness called a brain canister. Under MIC creation rules, you can make one as a universal item using psionics, costing some 25000 gp. It stores the brain of a creature, which you kill by removing it, in a canister. Illithids use it to transport dead illithids back to the Elder Brains, for food storage, or for keeping brains close that they can then probe telepathically. The brain is unconscious and passive.

Learn to make this item. Then kill psions, for maximum irony, illithids. Place their brains in canisters. You can then use thieving mindlink on the brains to borrow powers they know. For optimal efficiency, create a greater third eye of powerthieve, with no uses/day limitation. Perhaps limit it for flavour to be useful only against brains in canisters. Keep a library of defeated psionic foes in canisters in a bag of holding. Whenever you need a power, thieving mindlink it for free using the third eye. Bonus points for skull shaped canisters, taking up another skull from the bag, staring into its eyes like Hamlet, prince of Denmark, while your third eye flares, then proceed to make use of the knowledge.The Theiving Mindlink Is Unnecessary (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#manifestAnUnknownPowerFr omAnothersPowersKnown). "A psionic character can make contact with only a willing psionic character or creature (unconscious creatures are considered willing, but not psionic characters under the effects of other immobilizing conditions)"

[Psyren]

I think you'll need level 11, unless you use favored discipline.

Good point, Metaconcert is indeed a discipline power; edited.


The Theiving Mindlink Is Unnecessary (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#manifestAnUnknownPowerFr omAnothersPowersKnown). "A psionic character can make contact with only a willing psionic character or creature (unconscious creatures are considered willing, but not psionic characters under the effects of other immobilizing conditions)"

While true, there are advantages to using Thieving Mindlink in this situation:


Mindlink works at range, whereas manifesting from the brains requires physical contact.
TM requires two standard actions (1 for the mindlink, and 1 to scan the brain for powers.) Addressing the brain(s) requires a full-round action, which combined with (1) prevents you from moving.
You don't require a psicraft check to understand the powers - you simply become aware of all of them and choose one. You also don't require the second psicraft check to manifest it correctly once learned. On the other hand, however, addressing the brains has no saving throw if they are willing/unconscious.
Most importantly, TM lacks the clause "if this power isn't on your class list, you automatically fail" - this lets you pull powers from other disciplines, psywar/lurk powers the brains may have acquired via EK etc, so long as they are a level you can manifest.
You can continue stealing and using powers (using a separate standard action for each theft) for as long as the mindlink lasts (10 min./level). Addressing the brains instead forces you to use a stolen power within 1 round of borrowing it or be unable to borrow it again for the rest of the day; you also require a separate full-round action for each theft. Even manifesting another power instead of the one you stole causes the lockout.

[Analytica]

You can continue stealing and using powers (using a separate standard action for each theft) for as long as the mindlink lasts (10 min./level). Addressing the brains instead forces you to use a stolen power within 1 round of borrowing it or be unable to borrow it again for the rest of the day; you also require a separate full-round action for each theft. Even manifesting another power instead of the one you stole causes the lockout.

This would be the main point: I am inclined to interpret the SRD portion that says:


Upon successfully making contact with another willing psionic character or creature and learning what he can of one power in particular, the character can immediately attempt to manifest that power even if he doesn’t know it (and assuming he has power points left for the day). He can attempt to manifest the power normally on his next turn, and he succeeds if he makes one additional Psicraft check (DC 15 + the power’s level). He retains the ability to manifest the selected power for only 1 round. If he doesn’t manifest the power, fails the Psicraft check, or manifests a different power, he loses his chance to manifest that power for the day.

to mean that you can only borrow a particular power for one use on a given day. This may be an overly conservative reading, however...

[2xMachina]

Hustle linked Hustle, Deep Impact + Power attack + ToB.

Maxed power, Touch attack manuevers!

EDIT: Need Psionic Meditation of course.

EDIT: Hmm, rethinking, not needed. Take Psionic Meditation (either take Hidden talent, or be Psionic race). Move action concentrate, Standard action Strike. With your BAB, Touch attack will hit. Worse come to worse, there are Flat foot manuevers. Touch + flat foot = 10+-Size bonus+Deflection?

[Radar]

Note that Forced Dream recalls restore everything the way it was except for Forced Dream duration and power points. This seems to include memories. So under any scenario, no one will know how plan A failed. However, you can test a variety of plans this way.
Probe creature will retain it's memories, so when it pops up in the future, you can ready an action to establish a Mindlink and do a data dump (talking is a free action). You can also use Modify Memory to dump your own memories directly into the probe creature - first-hand information is allways better.

[Analytica]

Probe creature will retain it's memories

Where does it say that? It does state that all creatures return to their exact original states, but I see no exception for any property of the probe creature except for the Forced Dream duration.

[Radar]

Where does it say that? It does state that all creatures return to their exact original states, but I see no exception for any property of the probe creature except for the Forced Dream duration.
I might be misremembering then, but I've seen a version of the save game trick, where you Time-Hopped personally and recovered your own memories from the day to be from a Thought Bottle left in a proper place by yourself.

The problem is, if it doesn't allow for the probe creature to retain memories of the lost timeline, then the whole time-loop won't be as effective as it is portrayed to be: you can only produce a list of plans and choose one of them depending on the power consumption caused by the save game trick.
First of: you can easily run out of plans. This can lead to a state, where you try out the very same doomed idea (or a couple of them) until you run out of Power Points. If you use Power Point regeneration tricks, then either you run out of time (when using finite methods of gaining PP) or reach infinite PP and create a stable paradoxial time loop. This actually is not a bad outcome if there is a possibility of success - in the infinite repetition of the same events one will encounter this one possibility with probability of 1. The problem is, that if you rely on your save point trick too much, you can easily walk into a situation without a chance of getting out alive. This causes the universe to collapse - only Far Realms survive.

[Jack_Simth]

The problem is, that if you rely on your save point trick too much, you can easily walk into a situation without a chance of getting out alive. This causes the universe to collapse - only Far Realms survive.Nah.

See, you still need a round of real-time to cast the Time Hop on your probe, possibly a few rounds of real-time to recharge your power points, a round every now and again to put another Forced Dream on your probe, and so on.

So if you meet an impossible situation, you simply waste a few days coming up with plan after plan after plan.

[Psyren]

This would be the main point: I am inclined to interpret the SRD portion that says:
***
to mean that you can only borrow a particular power for one use on a given day. This may be an overly conservative reading, however...

I read it as - you only get the power once if you fail your check or don't use it after extracting it. Otherwise, you can access the mind and use that power again.

Regarding Forced Dream - it is unclear what, if anything, is recalled by the dreamer. I personally would rule that it is hazy recollection (i.e. just like regular dreams, unless the psion has ranks in Lucid Dreaming or the Lucid Dreaming feat.)

The main reason for ruling the PCs remember everything is how difficult it would be to prevent them metagaming the pertinent information anyway - you can potentially enforce the characters forgetting, but not the players. But even if you rule that the characters remember nothing at all, the Psion will still know something went wrong, because the PP he spent to manifest Forced Dream will not be refunded. If he writes a note with what he was planning to do just before manifesting FD, then he will know it failed even if he throws the note away afterward, because time will rewind to when he wrote it.

[Analytica]

Nah.

See, you still need a round of real-time to cast the Time Hop on your probe, possibly a few rounds of real-time to recharge your power points, a round every now and again to put another Forced Dream on your probe, and so on.

So if you meet an impossible situation, you simply waste a few days coming up with plan after plan after plan.

I agree with this. Alternately, you do end up with a situation where something waits to disable the probe (if that is really the only stable solution, eventually the system will get there), or you get tired of playing through similar events over and over again with slightly different plans, all the while trying not to metagame as the characters should act surprised over something you as a player already knows...


Regarding Forced Dream - it is unclear what, if anything, is recalled by the dreamer. I personally would rule that it is hazy recollection (i.e. just like regular dreams, unless the psion has ranks in Lucid Dreaming or the Lucid Dreaming feat.)

The main reason for ruling the PCs remember everything is how difficult it would be to prevent them metagaming the pertinent information anyway - you can potentially enforce the characters forgetting, but not the players. But even if you rule that the characters remember nothing at all, the Psion will still know something went wrong, because the PP he spent to manifest Forced Dream will not be refunded. If he writes a note with what he was planning to do just before manifesting FD, then he will know it failed even if he throws the note away afterward, because time will rewind to when he wrote it.

RAI for the power seems to me something like "for X rounds, if someone rolls badly during a round, you get to reroll that round". From that perspective, there might not be a need for memories. I agree with the note and Forced Dream. The reason you know, though, is not that the power points fail to be refunded, because you lose those points regardless of whether the plan succeeds or fails. Instead you know the plan fails because just as you get ready to cast Time Hop, the duration remaining for Forced Dream suddenly dropped from 10-ish to 0 rounds. At least I think so. Time travel makes everything less easy to visualize... :smallredface:

[Psyren]

The reason you know, though, is not that the power points fail to be refunded, because you lose those points regardless of whether the plan succeeds or fails.

Yes - but logically, if your plan succeeds, you wouldn't be discharging the Dream anyway. So you would know why your PP are lower. Ergo, the only reason you'd be standing there about to manifest Forced Dream and have your PP inexplicably drop would be if the plan on the note in front of you failed.

The ony other scenario is that you succeeded and died anyway, your psicrystal returned to the time stream and then rewound time. Perhaps not ideal from a plot perspective, but at least now you have the chance to try a plan that results in both success and survival. (Or modify the conditions on your crystal.)

[Analytica]

Yes - but logically, if your plan succeeds, you wouldn't be discharging the Dream anyway. So you would know why your PP are lower. Ergo, the only reason you'd be standing there about to manifest Forced Dream and have your PP inexplicably drop would be if the plan on the note in front of you failed.

Not sure I understand you here. The Forced Dream must be in place before the time hop begins. If you manifest Forced Dream, either the probe will return or it will not return. In either case, the power points are spent. If the probe returns, it returns at the start of the turn in which Time Hop was manifested on it. Unless this turn is the same turn as that which Forced Dream was manifested in, Forced Dream was manifested anyway.

Unless you manifest both Forced Dream and Time Hop on the same turn, at least, which might be what you meant. If you do that, then yes, you notice a sudden drop in PPs and nothing else. I guess it amounts to the same thing in the end though.


The ony other scenario is that you succeeded and died anyway, your psicrystal returned to the time stream and then rewound time. Perhaps not ideal from a plot perspective, but at least now you have the chance to try a plan that results in both success and survival. (Or modify the conditions on your crystal.)

True, but there is also the scenario of the probe re-entering time and being instantly destroyed before it can act to rewind. Though that would require the probe destroyer to use an immediate action...

[Jack_Simth]

True, but there is also the scenario of the probe re-entering time and being instantly destroyed before it can act to rewind. Though that would require the probe destroyer to use an immediate action...Why an Immediate action? A Readied action would do it just fine. Or setting up a hazardous condition that'll kill it before it can take an action once it reappears (AKA, traps).

[Analytica]

Why an Immediate action? A Readied action would do it just fine. Or setting up a hazardous condition that'll kill it before it can take an action once it reappears (AKA, traps).

True. Whatever lets you act on the probe's initiative, but before it rewinds. I think I somehow though readied actions WERE immediate actions, but I am not sure where I got that from...

[Kalaska'Agathas]

Whoah, stuff! I'll get to posting all this when I'm out of my game tonight! And by posting all this, I mean adding it to the OP.

[classy one]

The hustle meditation could be done at level 10 with an ardent and the dominant ideal ACF in freedom mantle.

You can take out the psicrystal affinity and psicrystal containment since hustle is in freedom mantle which no longer expends focus for metapsi feats. It also reduces the cost of the whole trick by 2.

[Meriss]

Can I get a logic check on a couple of things?

1. Reading Animal Affinity, it looks like, if a psychic warrior manifests AA to get 19 DEX (15 base). Does that then mean that if said PW has Combat Reflexes they would then have 6 Attacks of opportunity? Then if I throw in Prowess and 7 PP to Offensive Precognition I'm getting potentially 7+ AoO per round and maxing out at AB +8 (+4BAB +2STR +3 Insight +1 Wep Foc +1 Target Species (From UA Ranger) -2 two wep penalty)?

2. Would someone teleporting into a nearby or my square trigger attacks of opportunity?

3. Is Body Fuel in the Overchannel tree or not? And is the Ability burn to all three abilities (STR, DEX, CON) at once? Also RAW is unclear, is the burn permanent or not?

[Psyren]

Someone more melee-savvy than I can field the first two. For the third:



3. Is Body Fuel in the Overchannel tree or not? And is the Ability burn to all three abilities (STR, DEX, CON) at once? Also RAW is unclear, is the burn permanent or not?

1) Body Fuel does not require Overchannel.
2) Yes, all three abilities are burned simultaneously.
3) Ability Burn is not permanent, but neither can it be healed by any means other than natural healing. This means you get the scores back extremely slowly (1 point per day, or two points per day with complete bed rest.) On the plus side, all three burned scores will heal simultaneously, so you don't need to wait for one to return to normal before getting back another etc.

[Meriss]

So then this doesn't work?

Trick requires
Human CON 13+ Psychic Warrior 4
Mind over Body
Body Fuel
Empower Power
Rapid Metabolism
Powers Known: Animal Affinity, Body Purification
1. Manifest Animal Affinity to your dump stat
2. Use Body Fuel, Burn as much Ability Points as needed
3. Empower Body Purification at 4PP to regain one score up to whatever it was before burning.
4. Repeat 3 till all abilities restored

Never mind. My brain is offline today. It looked like it was going to work.

[Cieyrin]

So then this doesn't work?

Trick requires
Human CON 13+ Psychic Warrior 4
Mind over Body
Body Fuel
Empower Power
Rapid Metabolism
Powers Known: Animal Affinity, Body Purification
1. Manifest Animal Affinity to your dump stat
2. Use Body Fuel, Burn as much Ability Points as needed
3. Empower Body Purification at 4PP to regain one score up to whatever it was before burning.
4. Repeat 3 till all abilities restored

Never mind. My brain is offline today. It looked like it was going to work.

Correct, Body Purification won't cure Ability Burn. Strongheart Vest may work, depending on how your DM feels about that like with Hellfire Warlock. Binding Naberius is probably the easiest method, since Faster Healing speeds up ability damage healing, instead of outright curing it.

[Jack_Simth]

Can I get a logic check on a couple of things?

1. Reading Animal Affinity, it looks like, if a psychic warrior manifests AA to get 19 DEX (15 base). Does that then mean that if said PW has Combat Reflexes they would then have 6 Attacks of opportunity? Then if I throw in Prowess and 7 PP to Offensive Precognition I'm getting potentially 7+ AoO per round and maxing out at AB +8 (+4BAB +2STR +3 Insight +1 Wep Foc +1 Target Species (From UA Ranger) -2 two wep penalty)?

Combat Reflexes puts you at 1+ Dex Mod available attacks of opportunity. 19 Dex is a +4 Dex modifier. So it'd be 5 AoO's... and you'd need your opponents to actually provoke them to make use of them. But yes, if you spend two or three rounds buffing while you're burning through power points like there's no next encounter, you can do some fun stuff on round 3 or 4 where the battle's pretty much already decided anyway in 80-90% of actual games, yes.


2. Would someone teleporting into a nearby or my square trigger attacks of opportunity?

Not without some special reason for it, no. Teleportation, of itself, doesn't trigger AoO's, and AoO's for movement (by default) only trigger when someone leaves a square you threaten, not when they enter a square you threaten. There's different ways to change this with specific builds... but the default is "no".

3. Is Body Fuel in the Overchannel tree or not? And is the Ability burn to all three abilities (STR, DEX, CON) at once? Also RAW is unclear, is the burn permanent or not?
a) Body Fuel requires Overchannel, so yes, it's part of the Overchannel feat tree.
b) "to each of" means you take the hit on all three abilities, yes.
c) That's just because you're looking in the wrong spot. Ability Burn (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#psionicMaladies) is explicitly ability damage, which heals at the normal rate for such, but will only recover with "natural healing" (no potions, spells, or powers will fix it).

[Psyren]

a) Body Fuel requires Overchannel, so yes, it's part of the Overchannel feat tree.

It's weird. The text for Body Fuel (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#bodyFuel) does not list this prereq at all, but it is in the table. I'm not sure it matters since nobody should ever take Body Fuel anyway, but shouldn't the text be right?

[Jack_Simth]

It's weird. The text for Body Fuel (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#bodyFuel) does not list this prereq at all, but it is in the table. I'm not sure it matters since nobody should ever take Body Fuel anyway, but shouldn't the text be right?

*Blink*
Huh, never noticed that. What's the actual XPH say... the same. Interesting.

So no, it's not in the feat tree, as per the Errata:
When the text within a product contradicts itself, our
general policy is that the primary source is correct and
any secondary reference is incorrect. This means that
the skill list in the character chapter is correct, while the
table in the skill chapter that is merely referencing that
information is therefore a secondary source. Exceptions
to the rule will be called out specifically.


Strange.

[Raendyn]

I have a question about the incarnum recharge trick.

Since Midnight Augmentation is only reducing Augmentation cost and neither of the powers used in the Linked power feat are augmented. How comes & the reduction is counted in?

Did I miss something?

[sreservoir]

I have a question about the incarnum recharge trick.

Since Midnight Augmentation is only reducing Augmentation cost and neither of the powers used in the Linked power feat are augmented. How comes & the reduction is counted in?

Did I miss something?

you augment bestow power once.

[Jack_Simth]

I have a question about the incarnum recharge trick.

Since Midnight Augmentation is only reducing Augmentation cost and neither of the powers used in the Linked power feat are augmented. How comes & the reduction is counted in?

Did I miss something?
I'm not sure, but I suspect that the author of that trick may have. Still, it is possible to use Midnight Augmentation and Bestow Power to recharge - you'll just need a second focus (Psicrystal containment), and Psycharnum Infusion. You'll also need to be higher level, but essentually, you blow, one focus on Midnight Augmentation, the other on Psycharnum Infusion, and Bestow Power on yourself with enough Augmentation that you get a net gain; takes two or three iterations of the augmentation, without further cost reduction (see "Embrace of Mother Earth").

[Raendyn]

you augment bestow power once.

1pp for the first lvl power + 6pp for the once-augmented Bestow Power = 7pp

7pp -1pp(Midnight Augmentation) -2pp (Metapower) = 4 spent & 4 gained

So it doesn't recharge you... you need to invest 2 points of essentia i BP!


Edit: The funny thing is that someone mentions that the reduction is for augmentation at the 1st page... though he also counts it at his total pp reduction...

IT can be done if you have 2 points of essentia invested in Bestow Power.
same formula as above but extra -1 cost. spent 3 gain 4.

Also:

Still, it is possible to use Midnight Augmentation and Bestow Power to recharge - you'll just need a second focus (Psicrystal containment), and Psycharnum Infusion. You'll also need to be higher level, but essentually, you blow, one focus on Midnight Augmentation, the other on Psycharnum Infusion, and Bestow Power on yourself with enough Augmentation that you get a net gain;

Can you explain? how does Psycarnum infusion works with that?

[Raendyn]

I found an alternative to the incarnum trick.

Feats: Twin power, metapower ( twin bestow power), midnight augmentation, crystal container.

You need to invest 2 points of essentia to Bestow power for MNAugmentation
You augment BP to 9pp and twin it for an extra 6pp =15

We have -2 reduction from metapower & -2 from the MNA thats a cost of 11 and we gain 12.

It needs ML11 but with overchannel and tallented you can do it at 9ML.

Although having metapower twin to bestow power is a little *meh*

[sreservoir]

get a metamind 10, apopsi it so it only knows temporal regression and bestow power, and get it to play with a brain mole.

physicists cry.

[Urpriest]

get a metamind 10, apopsi it so it only knows temporal regression and bestow power, and get it to play with a brain mole.

physicists cry.

On the contrary, as a physicist I'm quite pleased. :smallbiggrin:

[Psyren]

More Incarnum goodness! There is an oft-overlooked power in MoI with a thousand uses, whether turning your entire party into a team of manifesters, letting an Erudite (13+) bypass his UPD yet again, or simply splitting your manifesting abilities with your psicrystal.

I need a catchier name, but since this one has a lot of moving parts, I'll just go with Soul Crystal for now. Erudites get the most benefit from this, but it carries strong bonuses for any primary manifester - particularly those who simply don't want their leftover PP going to waste at bedtime.

You will need:
- The Soul Crystal power (MoI pg. 107)
- Extend Power (optional)
- Metapower (optional)
- As many PP/ML boosters as you can get, plus at least 13 for each crystal you make

Background:
Soul Crystal is a 7th-level general Psion/Wilder power from Magic of Incarnum. Despite its source, it has no connection to Incarnum at all besides flavor - it doesn't require any essentia, incarnum class levels, or incarnum feat requirements. It allows a manifester to store any power they know, along with power points (equal to twice their manifester level); this crystal can then be used - by anyone, regardless of class - to manifest the power contained within. The crystals last for hours/level or until their PP store is depleted, whichever comes first.

Method:
1a) Manifest Soul Crystal (extended if possible) and pick any powers you want the following day. Imbue each crystal you create with the PP that power will need, taking into account any augmentations you may want.
1b) Alternatively for Erudites: reserve one of your UPD during the adventuring day for Soul Crystal, and whenever you come across a situation that needs one of your niche powers, make it into a gem. Then give it to someone else or have your psicrystal activate it for you.
2) Give the crystals to your party members, or simply keep them for yourself, cohorts and psicrystal (more on this later.)

Notes:
1) No matter who you give the powers to, they are treated as the manifester - but they manifest the powers at your ML and can even augment them (provided you stored enough PP in the crystal - they cannot use their own or any other source.) This means that anyone can use the powers you hand out, even the Fighter - and because they are treated as the manifester, they can use even powers with a range of "personal" on themselves, such as Metamorphosis, Expansion, Inertial Armor, or Vigor.

You can also "give" them to your psicrystal, keeping both in your pocket/backpack etc., and have it use its own standard actions manifesting from the crystal or crystals while you do something else. And finally, you can "give" them to yourself; this is especially useful for storing PP you have left over at the end of the day in a crystal containing a power you know you'll be using a lot the next day.

Because you are still treated as the manifester, an Erudite giving the crystals to himself may still add to his UPD count using these; it's not clear and could be a DM call. If your DM doesn't rule this way, great - but if he does, simply hand off any utility crystals to someone else, or make a crystal of Metaconcert to use with my Erudite Concerto trick (see note 3 for more on this.)

2) Soul Crystal's only limit is the number of PP you possess - creating the crystals costs no XP, gold, essentia or other resource. It also lasts hours/level, meaning you can make a bunch of crystals at bedtime with your remaining PP, and hand them out in the morning (particularly if you Extend them, and/or temporarily boost your ML before creation.) Each crystal will last a minimum of 13 hours (the minimum ML you need to manifest the power) - extending it will make them last 26 hours for over a day of adventuring, or you can simply boost your ML, or both. You should boost your ML as much as possible anyway, because the crystals capture your ML at the moment of creation; so Overchannel, Wild Surge, use ioun stones, manifester arrows, anything.

3) By RAW, manifesting a power from the crystal is always a standard action. This is bad news for swift powers like Catfall, Psionic Lion's Charge, and Hustle, but very good news for slow powers like Astral Construct, True Mind Switch, Identify, Psychic Chirurgery, and even Genesis. Yes, you heard right - standard action Genesis.

However, an even better slow-cast power to use with this is Metaconcert; particularly for Erudites. Having your psicrystal initiate a metaconcert in a mere standard action allows you to use your entire repertoire in combat without entering one ahead of time. Even better, initiating a metaconcert this way means that your psicrystal doesn't have to be psionic to make it work - merely using the shard treats the psicrystal as though he were a psion with your ML for the concert's duration. This means that your psicrystal won't need feats (including Wild Talent) to pull this off, in case your DM doesn't like that particular ruling.

4) The crystal persists either until the duration expires or until the PP contained within it are used up. You can imbue each crystal with PP = twice your ML, regardless of the cost of the power itself. This means that many crystals can be used multiple times per day.

To really break your DM's brain, make an Extended Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal, containing exactly 13 PP, at as high an ML as you can possibly get. At the end of the adventuring day, you can use this to manifest Soul Crystal for free, meaning that the only PP you have to spend on that crystal are the PP you want to store for the following day's use. What's more, they will store the high ML you used the previous day during their creation, meaning that whatever ML boost you used the previous day won't have to be used again. You can also Twin Soul Crystal to get two gems per manifestation, though you must still separately supply the PP to use with each one.

It is unclear if you can use metapsionics with a stored power; if not, simply use them on Soul Crystal itself (particularly Extend, Twin and Metapower) and save the stored PP for augmentation.

5) Finally, a corollary trick: if you have a way of gaining arbitrarily large bonus or infinite PP (e.g. the Metamind capstone, however briefly), this is a great way to spend it. Get your ML as ridiculously high as possible (consumables, feats, locations, etc.) and use the high cap to cram as many PP into each crystal as you can. The cap for each crystal will be 2x your ML no matter which power you put in each one. Typically this will mean you can use a fully-augmented power twice, but the user of the crystal can adjust this on the fly as fits the situation.

[Demonic_Spoon]

You haven't reduced the XP cost; you've just distributed it.

Ofc, there's some benefit to doing that: you have a larger XP pool to draw upon and you can more readily refill that pool.

(This is probably the place for a Memory Bottle trick.)

Actually, not having to add psychic Chirurgery to all the characters that you want to have give you powers back does spare some xp.

[sreservoir]

if sandwiched, what happens to your physical ability scores? and what does your type become? is there even an answer by RAW?

[Jack_Simth]

if sandwiched, what happens to your physical ability scores? and what does your type become? is there even an answer by RAW?Yes. If you do that funny true mind switch to become a sandwich, then you become an object, with nonabilities for Str, Dex, and Con (and Int, depending on method).

[Raendyn]

More Incarnum goodness! There is an oft-overlooked power in MoI with a thousand uses, whether turning your entire party into a team of manifesters, letting an Erudite (13+) bypass his UPD yet again, or simply splitting your manifesting abilities with your psicrystal.

I need a catchier name, but since this one has a lot of moving parts, I'll just go with Soul Crystal for now. Erudites get the most benefit from this, but it carries strong bonuses for any primary manifester - particularly those who simply don't want their leftover PP going to waste at bedtime.

You will need:
- The Soul Crystal power (MoI pg. 107)
- Extend Power (optional)
- Metapower (optional)
- As many PP/ML boosters as you can get, plus at least 13 for each crystal you make

Background:
Soul Crystal is a 7th-level general Psion/Wilder power from Magic of Incarnum. Despite its source, it has no connection to Incarnum at all besides flavor - it doesn't require any essentia, incarnum class levels, or incarnum feat requirements. It allows a manifester to store any power they know, along with power points (equal to twice their manifester level); this crystal can then be used - by anyone, regardless of class - to manifest the power contained within. The crystals last for hours/level or until their PP store is depleted, whichever comes first.

Method:
1a) Manifest Soul Crystal (extended if possible) and pick any powers you want the following day. Imbue each crystal you create with the PP that power will need, taking into account any augmentations you may want.
1b) Alternatively for Erudites: reserve one of your UPD during the adventuring day for Soul Crystal, and whenever you come across a situation that needs one of your niche powers, make it into a gem. Then give it to someone else or have your psicrystal activate it for you.
2) Give the crystals to your party members, or simply keep them for yourself, cohorts and psicrystal (more on this later.)

Notes:
1) No matter who you give the powers to, they are treated as the manifester - but they manifest the powers at your ML and can even augment them (provided you stored enough PP in the crystal - they cannot use their own or any other source.) This means that anyone can use the powers you hand out, even the Fighter - and because they are treated as the manifester, they can use even powers with a range of "personal" on themselves, such as Metamorphosis, Expansion, Inertial Armor, or Vigor.

You can also "give" them to your psicrystal, keeping both in your pocket/backpack etc., and have it use its own standard actions manifesting from the crystal or crystals while you do something else. And finally, you can "give" them to yourself; this is especially useful for storing PP you have left over at the end of the day in a crystal containing a power you know you'll be using a lot the next day.

Because you are still treated as the manifester, an Erudite giving the crystals to himself may still add to his UPD count using these; it's not clear and could be a DM call. If your DM doesn't rule this way, great - but if he does, simply hand off any utility crystals to someone else, or make a crystal of Metaconcert to use with my Erudite Concerto trick (see note 3 for more on this.)

2) Soul Crystal's only limit is the number of PP you possess - creating the crystals costs no XP, gold, essentia or other resource. It also lasts hours/level, meaning you can make a bunch of crystals at bedtime with your remaining PP, and hand them out in the morning (particularly if you Extend them, and/or temporarily boost your ML before creation.) Each crystal will last a minimum of 13 hours (the minimum ML you need to manifest the power) - extending it will make them last 26 hours for over a day of adventuring, or you can simply boost your ML, or both. You should boost your ML as much as possible anyway, because the crystals capture your ML at the moment of creation; so Overchannel, Wild Surge, use ioun stones, manifester arrows, anything.

3) By RAW, manifesting a power from the crystal is always a standard action. This is bad news for swift powers like Catfall, Psionic Lion's Charge, and Hustle, but very good news for slow powers like Astral Construct, True Mind Switch, Identify, Psychic Chirurgery, and even Genesis. Yes, you heard right - standard action Genesis.

However, an even better slow-cast power to use with this is Metaconcert; particularly for Erudites. Having your psicrystal initiate a metaconcert in a mere standard action allows you to use your entire repertoire in combat without entering one ahead of time. Even better, initiating a metaconcert this way means that your psicrystal doesn't have to be psionic to make it work - merely using the shard treats the psicrystal as though he were a psion with your ML for the concert's duration. This means that your psicrystal won't need feats (including Wild Talent) to pull this off, in case your DM doesn't like that particular ruling.

4) The crystal persists either until the duration expires or until the PP contained within it are used up. You can imbue each crystal with PP = twice your ML, regardless of the cost of the power itself. This means that many crystals can be used multiple times per day.

To really break your DM's brain, make an Extended Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal, containing exactly 13 PP, at as high an ML as you can possibly get. At the end of the adventuring day, you can use this to manifest Soul Crystal for free, meaning that the only PP you have to spend on that crystal are the PP you want to store for the following day's use. What's more, they will store the high ML you used the previous day during their creation, meaning that whatever ML boost you used the previous day won't have to be used again. You can also Twin Soul Crystal to get two gems per manifestation, though you must still separately supply the PP to use with each one.

It is unclear if you can use metapsionics with a stored power; if not, simply use them on Soul Crystal itself (particularly Extend, Twin and Metapower) and save the stored PP for augmentation.

5) Finally, a corollary trick: if you have a way of gaining arbitrarily large bonus or infinite PP (e.g. the Metamind capstone, however briefly), this is a great way to spend it. Get your ML as ridiculously high as possible (consumables, feats, locations, etc.) and use the high cap to cram as many PP into each crystal as you can. The cap for each crystal will be 2x your ML no matter which power you put in each one. Typically this will mean you can use a fully-augmented power twice, but the user of the crystal can adjust this on the fly as fits the situation.

LAst month I found this little precious gem in MoI. I totally agree that it can be most abusive & i just wait for my psion to be able to manifest it in a few lvls...

[Keld Denar]

Lots of people don't realize that Midnight Augment caps at essentia invested = power level, and you can't increase this by any feat or ability. No matter what your normal essentia capacity is for feats, you can still only invest as many essentia into a power you know as the level of that power. So the max on Bestow Power is 2 essentia.

Its a 2nd level power, so it costs 3 PP. Augmenting it comes in 3 PP stages. Thus, a single augment would be 6 PP, which would grant 4 PP. With Midnight Augment, that would return 4 PP max.

The only way it would work would be if you could raise that cap on Midnight Augment (which you can't) or lower the PP cost of Bestow Power. If you had a Torc of Power Preservation, it would work, recharging you 1 PP per manifest (spend 3 for a normally 6 PP Bestow Power, get back 4). If you had Psionic Meditation, you could do it once per round, for 10 PP a minute and 600 PP per hour.

[Jack_Simth]

Its a 2nd level power, so it costs 3 PP. Augmenting it comes in 3 PP stages. Thus, a single augment would be 6 PP, which would grant 4 PP. With Midnight Augment, that would return 4 PP max.Note that there's also multiple readings on what exactly the reduction means - is it per iteration of the augment, or is it total for augmentation?

If it's per augmentation iteration, then you augment twice and gain 6 pp at a cost of 5.

[Keld Denar]

Um...that is kinda...wow. Thats about the most abusive reading of the feat possible. You could spend 1 essentia on Energy Ray, and augment it by 1 each time, infinite times, and it would still only cost you 1 PP, and deal infinited6 damage. Thats about the most ludacris thing I've ever heard.

No, you have base cost + sum of augments + metapsionics <= ML. Even if you could possibly read it as RAW that way, its useless to consider it this way. Its not even on the top end of optimization, its WAY past that. I'm normally one for high end tricks like early entry and other stuff, but this introduces a level of infinite that just destroys the game. Cause the rocket tag we have isn't broken enough, you can now have infinite damage at level 1. To argue that RAI for this is actually intended is like saying that dividing by 0 is supposed to happen. While there is theory that exists to tell us what happens, it doesn't happen in real life. Ever.

[Jack_Simth]

Um...that is kinda...wow. Thats about the most abusive reading of the feat possible. You could spend 1 essentia on Energy Ray, and augment it by 1 each time, infinite times, and it would still only cost you 1 PP, and deal infinited6 damage. Thats about the most ludacris thing I've ever heard."This can't reduce the augmentation cost to less than 1". The base augment cost of Energy Ray is already 1.

[Keld Denar]

Ok, my bad...you have to wait till level 2. 2 pp to destroy the world. That's much more reasonable. Thank you for that.

[Jack_Simth]

Ok, my bad...you have to wait till level 2. 2 pp to destroy the world. That's much more reasonable. Thank you for that.
I might point out that if it's based on the augmentation step in one spot, then it's clearly based on the augmentation step in the other. Which means to have any effect at all, you'd need an augmentation that has a step of at least 2, under that interpretation.

[Raendyn]

Lots of people don't realize that Midnight Augment caps at essentia invested = power level, and you can't increase this by any feat or ability. No matter what your normal essentia capacity is for feats, you can still only invest as many essentia into a power you know as the level of that power. So the max on Bestow Power is 2 essentia.


The way i got it, you are refering to me, I am the only one that touched MNA & BP lately. When all my examples are at 2 invested essentia in MNA tops.:smallwink:

[Stegyre]

Its a 2nd level power, so it costs 3 PP. Augmenting it comes in 3 PP stages. Thus, a single augment would be 6 PP, which would grant 4 PP. With Midnight Augment, that would return 4 PP max.

The only way it would work would be if you could raise that cap on Midnight Augment (which you can't) or lower the PP cost of Bestow Power.
We do it by using Metapower and linking to a 1st level power. The -2 from Metapower and the +1 from the 1st level power net us out to 4 pp from a 3 pp expenditure.

[Xenovore]

I'm trying to figure out if the following setup works. Perhaps anyone can shed their infinite wisdom on it:

Classes : L1 ardent / L1+ Psion
Ardent mantle : Physical mantle
Feats: Body fuel

The physical mantle allows you to expend your psionic focus to gain 2 STR, DEX and CON for 1 round. After boosting your abilities you could use the body fuel feat to regain 4 power points by burning the temporary stat increase from the physical mantle.

The thing I'm unsure about is whether you can actually burn temporary stat bonuses. I can't any rules saying that it is not possible nor any rules that state which stats are burned first or last. There are some temporary bonuses from abilities that specifically state they are lost after the time frame but nothing more. Anyways, my GM allows this trick as long as I only use it at max once per round.

[Psyren]

I'm trying to figure out if the following setup works. Perhaps anyone can shed their infinite wisdom on it:

Classes : L1 ardent / L1+ Psion
Ardent mantle : Physical mantle
Feats: Body fuel

The physical mantle allows you to expend your psionic focus to gain 2 STR, DEX and CON for 1 round. After boosting your abilities you could use the body fuel feat to regain 4 power points by burning the temporary stat increase from the physical mantle.

The thing I'm unsure about is whether you can actually burn temporary stat bonuses. I can't any rules saying that it is not possible nor any rules that state which stats are burned first or last. There are some temporary bonuses from abilities that specifically state they are lost after the time frame but nothing more. Anyways, my GM allows this trick as long as I only use it at max once per round.

This doesn't work quite the way you want it to. Ability damage applies to your scores themselves, not to any bonuses. This means that once your boost from the mantle fades, the burn stays, and your scores are now lower than when you started; you would have to keep activating the mantle to break even, and further ability burn would only make you sink lower.

For instance, you activate Physical Power - you are now +2 to all physical scores.
Then you ability burn - you are now +0 all physical (2 - 2 = 0)
When your next turn starts, your Physical Power ends - you are now -2 all physical, which stays until the end of the day when you can rest.

If you repeat the trick, you are now 0 all physical (-2 + 2)
Burn again, you are now -2 all physical (-2 -2 + 2) because ability damage stacks.
Physical Power fades, and you are now -4 all physical.

And so on. Keep it up and you could end up killing yourself once your physical power ends.

[sreservoir]

mitigate suffering, however, should work, yes? sure, someone else would have to have it, but.

[Cor1]

Hello everyone.

I'll be playing a Psion soon, and while trying to shoehorn a recharge method in the build, I came up with this.


Minimum level : as soon as you can get to ML 13.

Feats:
Twin Power
Metapower, linked to Twin Bestow Power
Psycristal Affinity, Psicrystal Containment
(Optional : Overchannel)

Items:
(Optional : Torc of Power Preservation)

Powers:
Bestow Power

Method :
Get both your foci, expend both on Twin Twin Bestow Power, push your ML to at least 13 (with Torc, 14 without), augment Bestow Power at least once.

Bestow power costs 2PP if using the item.
Twinning it twice with metapower costs 8PP.
Augmenting it once costs 3PP.
Cost : 2 + 8 + 3 = 13 PP.
Gain : (2+2)*2*2 = 16 PP.
Benefit : 3 PP.

It's not much, so it's a good thing that it scales well (if I may say so myself).
Augmented once more, it costs 16 PP to manifest, and return 24 PP, gaining 8.
Augmented three times, it costs 19 PP, and gives 32, gain : 13.

That is the limit at lvl16 (unless you pump your ML some other additional way). By the time you hit lvl17 you get Affinity Field, so this gets exponentially more useful instead of linearly.


I don't claim credit for this, having pretty much deduced it from this thread and similar others.

[sreservoir]

can you apply the same metapsi twice? I'd have guessed no.

[Psyren]

can you apply the same metapsi twice? I'd have guessed no.

It's specifically stated for metamagic feats (in RC) but not metapsionic ones. I doubt it's intended but haven't found a specific prohibition.


mitigate suffering, however, should work, yes? sure, someone else would have to have it, but.

No, it's the exact same problem - you're still taking the ability damage, you're merely covering it up with a temporary boost (10 minutes in this case.)

The issue is that ability damage stacks, so every time you do this the penalties accrue more and more.

[sreservoir]

No, it's the exact same problem - you're still taking the ability damage, you're merely covering it up with a temporary boost (10 minutes in this case.)

The issue is that ability damage stacks, so every time you do this the penalties accrue more and more.

the thing is, mitigate suffering doesn't give a boost; it gives "temporary ability points" -- exact words -- which, afaict, aren't actually defined in rules text.

[Psyren]

the thing is, mitigate suffering doesn't give a boost; it gives "temporary ability points" -- exact words -- which, afaict, aren't actually defined in rules text.

The ability itself tells you what happens. CC pg. 61:

"These ability points can be applied to any single damaged ability, raising it to a maximum of its starting score. Temporary ability points granted in this way disappear after 10 minutes, returning the subject to its previous damaged state unless some other effect restores the lost ability points first."

In other words, the ability points you burn for Body Fuel stay gone - and the more you Body Fuel, the deeper in the hole you get.

And because the ability burn lasts much longer than MS does, you have to replenish yourself every 10 minutes once your score gets low.

[sreservoir]

The ability itself tells you what happens. CC pg. 61:

"These ability points can be applied to any single damaged ability, raising it to a maximum of its starting score. Temporary ability points granted in this way disappear after 10 minutes, returning the subject to its previous damaged state unless some other effect restores the lost ability points first."

In other words, the ability points you burn for Body Fuel stay gone - and the more you Body Fuel, the deeper in the hole you get.

And because the ability burn lasts much longer than MS does, you have to replenish yourself every 10 minutes once your score gets low.

the target returns to its "previous damaged state", though, so you should be returning to the state of not having taken damage from body fueling through your temporary ability points, because that happened after mitigate suffering's effect, and is therefore not part of the previous state.

[Psyren]

the target returns to its "previous damaged state", though, so you should be returning to the state of not having taken damage from body fueling through your temporary ability points, because that happened after mitigate suffering's effect, and is therefore not part of the previous state.

The only way to accomplish that reading would be to Mitigate Suffering before using Body Fuel, and you would get no temporary points for doing that because Mitigate Suffering is capped by your undamaged ability scores.

[sreservoir]

The only way to accomplish that reading would be to Mitigate Suffering before using Body Fuel, and you would get no temporary points for doing that because Mitigate Suffering is capped by your undamaged ability scores.

... yes.

as I was saying, body fuel once, then repeatedly mitigate and body fuel.

one point from each score is a minor penalty, especially since you can top up by just mitigating again as long as you're not in combat. also a use for odd ability scores, which is nice.

[Psyren]

You return to your damaged state, and damage again. Ability damage stacks.

You'll gain enough of a buffer to function, but if it wears off you're toast.

[sreservoir]

You return to your damaged state, and damage again. Ability damage stacks.

You'll gain enough of a buffer to function, but if it wears off you're toast.

no, because since you're mitigating between each use of body fuel, you repeatedly return to the -1/-1/-1 state.

[Psyren]

no, because since you're mitigating between each use of body fuel, you repeatedly return to the -1/-1/-1 state.

That's like trying to heal Overchannel damage by manifesting Vigor. You're not actually restoring your ability scores (which you couldn't anyway, as they can't be magically healed) therefore you're actually going -1/-2/-3. It's just that you get to act as though you're at 0/0/0 for all purposes.

The feat flat out says that the ability damage isn't healed, why is this hard to understand?

[Cor1]

can you apply the same metapsi twice? I'd have guessed no.
It's specifically stated for metamagic feats (in RC) but not metapsionic ones. I doubt it's intended but haven't found a specific prohibition.

I fixed it so that it doesn't need stacking two metapsionics:

Metapowered Twin BP with Torc of Power Preservation :
Augmented : 2+4+3 = spend 9pp to regain (2+2)*2 = 8
Augmented : 2+4+6 = spend 12pp to regain (2+2+2)*2 = 12
Augmented : 2+4+9 = spend 15pp to regain for (2+2+2+2)*2 = 16
Augmented : 2+4+12 = spend 18pp to regain (2+2+2+2+2)*2 = 20
Augmented : 2+4+15 = spend 21pp to regain (2+2+2+2+2+2)*2 = 24

May not seem that much, but this must be usable at level 16. With Overchannel, it can be augmented to 18 for 3d8 dmg (and if you don't have a second focus to expend for Talented, then Twin True Metabolism takes care of that nicely. Fun Fact : Since it just heals you for every attack, nothing stacks, it just applies twice.)


It's much less efficient than using Incarnum, but I was specifically trying to avoid it for various reasons. Earth Power would be cheaper, too, but two feats was too much for this build, that I will probably post here as soon as it's finished enough.


That's like trying to heal Overchannel damage by manifesting Vigor.
---snip


Actually, why wouldn't it work if you manifest Vigor *before* you take Overchannel damage? (I'm agreeing that Body Fuel/Mitigate doesn't work, mind you. I've been reading those exact rules full-time for the last two days.)

[TroubleBrewing]

This has nothing to do with the current discussion, but in the actual breakdown of how each trick is performed on page one, could we get some kind of clarification as to what each part of the trick is?

Color coding isn't a bad choice. Blue for feats, red for powers, green for items, perhaps? I'd be happy to PM the OP with a list of color-coded stuff, if the work would be prohibitive.

[Tenno Seremel]

This light green is very hard to read…

[TroubleBrewing]

Drat. I'm colorblind, so I just went with three obvious colors. This any better?

[Tenno Seremel]

Well, at least it's visible :} Maybe this, darker one (#060)

[Rubik]

You can use Human Heritage to qualify for Tiny von BigMcLargeHuge.

[Cor1]

New trick! (I hope)

Chain of Psicrystals

Starting level : 3, 1 with flaws

Psicrystals gain HD as the same rate as you do. As intelligent constructs, they gain feats. This can be used in a number of ways.

Take Psicrystal Affinity at some point. Choose your psicrystal's first feat as Wild Talent, give it Synchronicity as known power for giggles. Since it shares the effects of its powers with you, this is better than good.

Now when you hit lvl 3, your psicrystal gains a second feat. Give it Psicrystal Affinity. Take, of course, Psicrystal containment, yourself. The second 'cristal takes Psionic Meditation, so that it can focus itself. Later you'll learn Feat leech and reformat yourself to forget your own Meditation feat.

This is T.O., and pretty useless by that point. But this trick enables crazy shenanigans later. Metapower Linked Bestow Power cast through your psicrystal to yourself inside an affinity field charges them full. They can have Practiced Manifester to bump their manifester levels, so they can store more pp. Then you can have them manifest from your powers known.

If you chain them enough, you can get back more feats than you invested, so it breaks the feats/level limits at some point.

Now share the effect of Solicit Psicrystal with all of them. You just multiplied the amount of physical actions you can take in a round by however many crystals you have. Now notice that Psicrystals use your skill list, so they can use your Skill Tricks. Swift Concentration means that each of them uses its swift to make your body take a full round of physical actions. You can still manifest powers, and nothing prevents you from Twinning Schism. It duplicates the effect of the power, you simply gain two supplemental minds that can each manifest a power that can be cast in a standard action, at your ML-6.

Now, notice that if you share with your psicrystals the effect of the Feat Leech power you manifest on them, it gives them their feats back. So they can use all the metapsionics you collected on all the powers you all collectively know, at Practiced Manifester levels, which makes it ML 5. Spam augmented, possibly overchanneled, metapsionified Amethyst Burst/Crystalstorm? Can do. Also, they can't fail the Psicraft check, since they use your skill list. And since they focus themselves, they can negate Overchannel damage with Talented.

And if you manifest Schism and Fission, you can share the cloning effects with your psicrystals. So many actions... Who needs Synchronicity now? Oh, right, you, your clone and your pet rock army in their Affinity Field.

The action economy is now something that happens to other people.

[Gotterdammerung]

Most of the tricks involving Bestow Power to gain infinite power points are used incorrectly. The text of Bestow power specifically states that you are linking your mind to another mind, and therefore you can't simply target yourself with the power. You also can't use schism to split yourself in two and then use Bestow Power on yourself because schism has some very specific text about the subject. That doesn't mean that you can't use Bestow Power to gain infinite power points. You can use it between 2 psions. You can gain access to this tag team partner through Thrall herd. Or you can wait til lvl 15 and use your psicrystal. Channel Power will allow you to use bestow power on yourself. You spend the power points but the power originates from the psicrystal as if the psicrystal cast it. This means your psicrystal links its mind to your mind.

Another misconception I am seeing. Midnight Augmentation only reduces the power point cost to augment. It does not reduce the final cost of the power. If a power said "augment 3: for every 3 power points you spend X happens.", then midnight augmentation with 1 essentia invested in it would change that statement to "augment 2: for every 2 power points you spend X happens."

A linked power syncro+ bestow power with metapower would cost 3 power points to cast. 1+ metapsionic cost of 4 (1+3) - 2 from metapower.


Side Note: I don't see any reason why you couldn't pick the same power twice for "Linked power" and use Synchronicity linked to synchronicity with metapower for a total power point cost of 1. (1+ metacost 2 (1+1)- 2 meta power reduction). Netting 2 standard actions for the cost of 1 PP and 1 standard. With infinite power points this would essentially mean as many standard actions as you want on your next turn.

Step 1: 1 Standard use link to give yourself 1 readied action this turn and one next turn.

Step 2: Use your readied this turn to cast the link again and gain 1 readied action this turn and one next turn (total 2 free readied actions next turn).

Step 3:Repeat step 2 for +1 turns next turn. Cost 1 power point each repeat. Turn limit = to your power point limit.

Once you have a desired number of turns built up you can take your readied action this turn and do something with it then end your turn. (I recommend using the power that makes you invulnerable for a turn to ensure you make it to your next nova turn.


Midnight augmentation linked to bestow power with 2 essentia in it will allow you to augment bestow power to give more power points than you spend once you reach manifester lvl 6.

But as stated above, you need a tag team partner.

[Rubik]

New trick! (I hope)

Chain of Psicrystals

Starting level : 3, 1 with flaws

Psicrystals gain HD as the same rate as you do. As intelligent constructs, they gain feats. This can be used in a number of ways.

Take Psicrystal Affinity at some point. Choose your psicrystal's first feat as Wild Talent, give it Synchronicity as known power for giggles. Since it shares the effects of its powers with you, this is better than good.
Wild Talent (I think you mean Hidden Talent) doesn't give you an actual manifester level, so your psicrystal can't take feats that require a manifester level.

However, psicrystals can qualify for Leadership, granting them a follower (make it a manifester with a psicrystal with Leadership). Voila.

[Cor1]

Step 1: 1 Standard use link to give yourself 1 readied action this turn and one next turn.

Step 2: Use your readied this turn to cast the link again and gain 1 readied action this turn and one next turn (total 2 free readied actions next turn).

Step 3:Repeat step 2 for +1 turns next turn. Cost 1 power point each repeat. Turn limit = to your power point limit.

That does not work. Re-read Linked Power : it goes off in your next ROUND, not in your next action. You can't do that in a round.
Also, notice that Linked Power needs you to expend a psionic focus. How do you get infinite foci?


Wild Talent (I think you mean Hidden Talent) doesn't give you an actual manifester level, so your psicrystal can't take feats that require a manifester level.

However, psicrystals can qualify for Leadership, granting them a follower (make it a manifester with a psicrystal with Leadership). Voila.

Wild Talent, not Hidden Talent, gives your Psicrystal one level of manifester. (Edit : this is wrong. It's the other way around.)
You'll find it on p67 of the Expanded Psionics Handbook. (Edit : This is right. About Hidden Talent, I mean. Sorry.)

I use this precisely in a campaign where we're barred both Leadership and Thrallherd.

[Cieyrin]

That does not work. Re-read Linked Power : it goes off in your next ROUND, not in your next action. You can't do that in a round.
Also, notice that Linked Power needs you to expend a psionic focus. How do you get infinite foci?

I would guess the Ardent ACF, though I would specify that.


Wild Talent, not Hidden Talent, gives your Psicrystal one level of manifester. You'll find it on p67 of the Expanded Psionics Handbook.

I use this precisely in a campaign where we're barred both Leadership and Thrallherd.

Where does Wild Talent say that? :smallconfused:


Your mind wakes to a previously unrealized talent for psionics.

Benefit
Your latent power of psionics flares to life, conferring upon you the designation of a psionic character. As a psionic character, you gain a reserve of 2 power points and can take psionic feats, metapsionic feats, and psionic item creation feats. You do not, however, gain the ability to manifest powers simply by virtue of having this feat.

I don't see anything that says you have a ML, just that you have a reserve and that you're now psionic, thus you can take psionic feats.

[Cor1]

How do you get infinite foci? I would guess the Ardent ACF, though I would specify that.

No Ardent mantle gives Synchronicity. Yeah, Substitute Powers ACF, but that requires DM fiat. Now if you can get it, that's an infinite loop indeed. Even my DM isn't crazy enough.

Also, I'm not sure you can have several prepared actions coming up in a round. Is there any sort of official ruling on that?


Where does Wild Talent say that? :smallconfused:

I don't see anything that says you have a ML, just that you have a reserve and that you're now psionic, thus you can take psionic feats.

Sorry, mixed them up. Now my face is red.

Seriously, open your XPH pg 67, it's right there. I'd copy it verbatim, but I dunno whether I can do that in a respectable forum, so here goes the paraphrase:

Hidden Talent can be taken at first level only, makes you a psionic characters that has a reserve of 2 pp, can take psionic/metapsionic/psionic crafting feats and knows one first-level power, that you can manifest if your Cha is at least 11, with a DC = 11+Cha mod; this becomes a bonus power known if you take manifesting class level(s). It is not added to manifester levels gained by classes, but the 2pp are added to your class reserve.

It's the better version of Wild Talent. It's even noted as such on the page.

There is one caveat and a half : it is not an actual manifester level, and Practiced Manifester has no class to be applied to. I'd argue that they are still psionic creatures who can manifest a power, and as such, their Hit Dice count as monster class level equivalents, so it does up their manifester level by up to 4, for the powers they can get access to, like all of yours (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#manifestAnUnknownPowerFr omAnothersPowersKnown), they can manifest them as long as their ML gets high enough. Vigor them up and get them to Overchannel, voilà, your psicrystal has ML 7 (arguably, 8) and can manifest your 4th-level powers.
(And if your psicrystals focus themselves, which, as psionic creatures, they can, then with Talented they can expend their own foci to take no damage from Overchannel for power levels 1-3.)

Notice that they'll need a Wis mod of however many feats you want them to share with you, but it could be argued that they simply share the result of the Feat Leech you cast on youself through your first psicrystal, and since it's manifested from it, it can share the effects with its own psicrystal. Also a Cha rating of at least 14 to be able to manifest your powers. Sharing the effects of Animal Affinity with them takes care of that nicely, though.

Also, they gain ability score increases with their HDs. Inherent bonuses to abilities are always nice.

[Gotterdammerung]

That does not work. Re-read Linked Power : it goes off in your next ROUND, not in your next action. You can't do that in a round.

Ok I guess i will try to explain it better. If you weren't using linked power at all, you could cast synchro then used the readied action to cast synchro then use the readied action to cast synchro, ect ect. If you link it with link power, every time you cast synchro in this turn, you get a readied action for this turn and next turn. you can keep using the ones from this turn to cast more linked synchro's thus creating extra readied actions in your next turn.


Also, notice that Linked Power needs you to expend a psionic focus. How do you get infinite foci?


I was thinking ardent ACF with substituting Synchro. But your right that takes some DM work.

[Cor1]

I'd like to request a clarification to the Feat Battery Crystal trick :

If you cast Feat Leech on yourself through your psicrystal, while sharing the effects (that is, both leeching and gaining) with your psicrystal, then your crystal gains your feats, you get its feats, and you re-gain yours while it regains its own.

And since it's a second-level power, by the time you get Affinity Field you can broadcast both effects to your second crystal, getting even more feats. Or to the other PCs, but by that point your DM cries.

Also, new trick :

1. Manifest Affinity Field
2. Share it with your pet rock = 2 affinity fields for the price of one
3. Target yourself with lvl1-3 powers, ridiculously augmented
4. Share them with the crystal : they're broadcast twice.

Nice for Vigor. And Inertial Armor, Biofeedback and low-lvl healing powers, or even offensive ones.

Example : Manifest Charm Person on yourself through the crystal, while sharing it with the crystal, then have the crystal (from Hidden Talent or something) manifest it on you : every creature in range has to pass three saving throws. It's like a cheaper Chain+Twin Power! Only for low-level spells, but you'd need shenanigans to manifest Twin+Chained high-level powers anyway (spend two foci and +12pp). Twin True Metabolism, share it, then manifest shared damaging powers on yourself that you'll both heal* inside this round. Boom!

Yes, I love to manifest powers on my PC through its pet rock. When I made that "biotech psionic machine" Elan Psion build, I knew very well what I was doing, but not exactly to what insane degree it's actually efficient.

* : Psicrystals can normally not be healed, only repaired, but I think that sharing the effects of healing powers with it would still give it back hit points. Your take?

[Rubik]

I'd like to request a clarification to the Feat Battery Crystal trick :

If you cast Feat Leech on yourself through your psicrystal, while sharing the effects (that is, both leeching and gaining) with your psicrystal, then your crystal gains your feats, you get its feats, and you re-gain yours while it regains its own.

And since it's a second-level power, by the time you get Affinity Field you can broadcast both effects to your second crystal, getting even more feats. Or to the other PCs, but by that point your DM cries.

Also, new trick :

1. Manifest Affinity Field
2. Share it with your pet rock = 2 affinity fields for the price of one
3. Target yourself with lvl1-3 powers, ridiculously augmented
4. Share them with the crystal : they're broadcast twice.

Nice for Vigor. And Inertial Armor, Biofeedback and low-lvl healing powers, or even offensive ones.

Example : Manifest Charm Person on yourself through the crystal, while sharing it with the crystal, then have the crystal (from Hidden Talent or something) manifest it on you : every creature in range has to pass three saving throws. It's like a cheaper Chain+Twin Power! Only for low-level spells, but you'd need shenanigans to manifest Twin+Chained high-level powers anyway (spend two foci and +12pp). Twin True Metabolism, share it, then manifest shared damaging powers on yourself that you'll both heal* inside this round. Boom!

Yes, I love to manifest powers on my PC through its pet rock. When I made that "biotech psionic machine" Elan Psion build, I knew very well what I was doing, but not exactly to what insane degree it's actually efficient.

* : Psicrystals can normally not be healed, only repaired, but I think that sharing the effects of healing powers with it would still give it back hit points. Your take?Note that doing these things forces the powers to overlap, rather than stacking, so Inertial Armor wouldn't give you infinite AC, but instead makes dispels impossible (since there're infinite iterations of Inertial Armor to dispel); however using Disjunction will get rid of every iteration available.

However, Vigor specifically says that remanifesting it just refreshes the temp hp you have, rather than having overlapping temp hp (though other sources of temp hp do indeed stack with it).

[Cor1]

Note that doing these things forces the powers to overlap, rather than stacking, so Inertial Armor wouldn't give you infinite AC, but instead makes dispels impossible (since there're infinite iterations of Inertial Armor to dispel); however using Disjunction will get rid of every iteration available.

However, Vigor specifically says that remanifesting it just refreshes the temp hp you have, rather than having overlapping temp hp (though other sources of temp hp do indeed stack with it).

Oh, I didn't even forget; however, I should have explained it better : it's to chain them for free on erryone, not to stack the effects. For the buffs, at least. I meant "vigor on everyone", not "vigor three times on each".

I'm curious as to how you deduced that the buffs would take effect an infinite number of times. I count once from your AF, once from the Crystal's AF (by shared power), and once by the Crystal manifesting it from its own field. It's not bouncing back... oh, sorry. Yes, yes it is, because it's shared back to you, in the AF, so it goes back again to the other AF, ad infinitum...

Now to really break your DM's brain : From your AF, manifest shared Synchronicity linked to Synchronicity, then have your crystal cast it once from your known powers, but augmented, from its own Field.

Next round, you have to invent new rules to resolve actions, because anyone, friend or foe, can recursively react to anything by manifesting twice and also doing any standard action in reaction to anything else.

[Cor1]

I know we're not supposed to double-post, but I'd like this new trick to be read.


One for Erudites:

1. Learn Soul Crystal.
2. Manifest Soul Crystal, enclosing the Soul Crystal power and enough pp to manifest it twice.
3. Use the Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal to recreate a Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal, so you can repeat the trick.
4. Use the Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal to create a Soul Crystal of whatever power you want to manifest without it counting towards your Unique Powers per Day limit.

inb4 obvious misunderstanding waiting to happen : The only power you actually manifest, that count towards your Unique Powers per Day limit, is Soul Crystal.

Use any recharge method and if you're a Spell-to-power variant : Triple 9s, all day, erry day, all of them.

[Psyren]

I already pointed out Erudite + Soul Crystal actually.

Don't forget that you can even hand the crystals out to your party members, allowing them to freely manifest from your repertoire as well. (Including personal-range powers.)

[Cor1]

Oh I'm so sorry. I thought the only trick we had for that was the Erudite Metaconcert.

... and the Erudite's Crystalline Grimoire Trick isn't in the first post.


Other use for the Soul Crystal Grimoire:

So you're a Psion, but you'd like to exchange known powers for cheaper than 150xp every three? Here's what you do.

1. Get a bag
2. Manifest Quintessence enough to fill its bottom with the stuff (it puts the limited duration Soul Crystals in temporal stasis)
3. Manifest Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal, transfer with enough pp in it to cast it several times
4. Give one Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal to your favourite Spell-to-Power Erudite, so that he puts each of his known powers inside Soul Crystals
5. Put them in the bag of temporal stasis. You now have every power and spell in the game in your bag, ready to be manifested.
6. To use them without deleting them from your spellbook-powerbag, use a Soul Crystal of Soul Crystal in one hand, a Soul Crystal of Whatever in the other hand, then create one more Soul Crystal of Whatever. The condition is that you can manifest the power, and it's right there in your hand - now dodge the XPH and MoI to the head.

The Bag of Crystals trick makes any character into a better Psionic than any Psionic class.

[Psyren]

Oh I'm so sorry. I thought the only trick we had for that was the Erudite Metaconcert.

... and the Erudite's Crystalline Grimoire Trick isn't in the first post.

Yeah, no worries - KA hasn't updated it with mine yet either.

[Rubik]

The Wand Chamber Fandango
In Dungeonscape you have wand chambers, which can fit into any weapon with a handle or other solid part that's 6 inches long or greater, and that let you hold and wield a wand without having to drop what's in your hand or draw the wand.

In CPsi you have a feat that lets you use a dorje (or wand, since they're equivalent) as a stabbing weapon.

Wands and dorjes are about a foot long each, are the same shape, and are activated the same way, for the same type of purpose.

This means you can have a whole bunch of dorjes and wands that have wand chambers, which means you can wield a dorje inside a dorje inside a dorje inside a dorje inside a dorje inside a dorje etc etc etc.

[Xenovore]

Here's the variant I used to recharge my psion in the end:

Feats:
Earth power
As long as you are psionically focused and standing on stone or unworked earth (including normal soil), you can pull psychic energy from the earth when you manifest a power. When you manifest a power in this way, you pay 1 less power point than you normally would. The use of this feat cannot reduce a power's cost below 1 power point. You cannot use this ability when you expend your psionic focus to enhance the same power in a different manner. For example, if you have the Maximize Power feat, you cannot expend your focus to maximize a power and also reduce the cost of that same power.

Midnight Augmentation(Bestow Power)
Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat and choose a particular psionic power that you know. If you expend your psionic focus when manifesting that power, the power point cost to augment that power is reduced by a value equal to the invested essentia. This can't reduce the augmentation cost to less than 1. You can't invest more essentia in this feat than the chosen power's level, even if the maximum essentia capacity of this feat would normally be higher than that value. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours. You gain 1 point of essentia.

Power:
- Bestow power

Normal:
Bestow power gives 2 power points and costs 3

With Earth Power
Bestow power gives 2 power points and costs 2

With Midnight Augmentation (2 essentia) and Earth Power augmented once
Bestow power gives 4 power points and costs 3 power points.

- Base costs becomes 2 due to Earth Power
- Augmenting adds the power costs 2 less due to Midnight Augmentation giving 2 extra power points for 1 power point augmentation cost.

This makes 2 base + 1 augmentation = 3 giving 4.

The GM and I agreed that we would not allow the infinite recharge trick during combat and only use this to recharge between combats.

[Cieyrin]

Here's the variant I used to recharge my psion in the end:

Feats:
Earth power
As long as you are psionically focused and standing on stone or unworked earth (including normal soil), you can pull psychic energy from the earth when you manifest a power. When you manifest a power in this way, you pay 1 less power point than you normally would. The use of this feat cannot reduce a power's cost below 1 power point. You cannot use this ability when you expend your psionic focus to enhance the same power in a different manner. For example, if you have the Maximize Power feat, you cannot expend your focus to maximize a power and also reduce the cost of that same power.

Midnight Augmentation(Bestow Power)
Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat and choose a particular psionic power that you know. If you expend your psionic focus when manifesting that power, the power point cost to augment that power is reduced by a value equal to the invested essentia. This can't reduce the augmentation cost to less than 1. You can't invest more essentia in this feat than the chosen power's level, even if the maximum essentia capacity of this feat would normally be higher than that value. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours. You gain 1 point of essentia.

Power:
- Bestow power

Normal:
Bestow power gives 2 power points and costs 3

With Earth Power
Bestow power gives 2 power points and costs 2

With Midnight Augmentation (2 essentia) and Earth Power augmented once
Bestow power gives 4 power points and costs 3 power points.

- Base costs becomes 2 due to Earth Power
- Augmenting adds the power costs 2 less due to Midnight Augmentation giving 2 extra power points for 1 power point augmentation cost.

This makes 2 base + 1 augmentation = 3 giving 4.

The GM and I agreed that we would not allow the infinite recharge trick during combat and only use this to recharge between combats.

Issue: Earth Power requires you maintain focus and has a clause against using the feat if you expend focus to enhance a power in a different way, like Midnight Augmentation, which requires you to expend your focus. If it wasn't for the clause, you could get away with using your psicrystal's focus but that's not the case.

[Cor1]

Issue: Earth Power requires you maintain focus and has a clause against using the feat if you expend focus to enhance a power in a different way, like Midnight Augmentation, which requires you to expend your focus. If it wasn't for the clause, you could get away with using your psicrystal's focus but that's not the case.

Replace Midnight Augmentation with a Torc of Power Preservation (the good one). Voilà, legal. And you don't need Incarnum.

[Rubik]

The 3.5 torc of power preservation and the 3.0 torc of psionic might are two different named items with different prices that both do the same thing.

And they stack.

Also, a three level dip in illithid savant can get you font of power without having to wade through ten levels of metamind.

[Jack_Simth]

The 3.5 torc of power preservation and the 3.0 torc of psionic might are two different named items with different prices that both do the same thing.

And they stack.

In order to get them to stack, however, you'll either have to merge them (custom magic item - requires DM approval), de-slot one (custom magic item - requires DM approval), or be Epic enough to pick up an additional magic item space...


Also, a three level dip in illithid savant can get you font of power without having to wade through ten levels of metamind.
Of course, to do that, you need to find (and eat) a Metamind with Font of Power.

...

And qualify for Illithid Savant, of course.

[Rubik]

In order to get them to stack, however, you'll either have to merge them (custom magic item - requires DM approval), de-slot one (custom magic item - requires DM approval), or be Epic enough to pick up an additional magic item space...50% markup as per the MIC and you can do it. Easy enough.



Of course, to do that, you need to find (and eat) a Metamind with Font of Power.Metaminds are awful. They're weaker than a full psion and get fewer power points (when the point was to get more). Anyone with 10 levels in metamind is 5 manifester levels behind with just a couple of feats, a few hp, and a few skill points to show for it. Shouldn't be too horribly difficult.


And qualify for Illithid Savant, of course.Metamorphosis changes your type and subtype, and gives you the tentacles and the ability to eat brains. 's not that hard.

[lord_khaine]

Metaminds are awful. They're weaker than a full psion and get fewer power points (when the point was to get more). Anyone with 10 levels in metamind is 5 manifester levels behind with just a couple of feats, a few hp, and a few skill points to show for it. Shouldn't be too horribly difficult.

And you are now arguing for how hard it is going to be to find one at the right level :smalltongue:

[Rubik]

And you are now arguing for how hard it is going to be to find one at the right level :smalltongue:One level in thrallherd. Or possibly Leadership. There's also all sorts of divination out there that can let you find various people in a specific class.

Alternately, use Ice Assassin.

[lord_khaine]

One level in thrallherd. Or possibly Leadership.

Wont work, there is nothing in either of those 2 who says you actualy get to chose who you actualy get as a thrall/cohort.


There's also all sorts of divination out there that can let you find various people in a specific class.

Please tell me what sort of divination you are going to use to find someone with 10 levels of metamind.
Especaly since by your own argument its higly unlikely to actualy find one who has survived long enough to reach level 14 :smalltongue:


Alternately, use Ice Assassin.

To do what, melt in the sun?