What is Psionic Focus?

[killem2]

I am looking at this Psionic Power called Hustle.

It appears to be a good power, but I keep seeing this "psionicaly focused". What is it? How do you do it, what do you roll?

:smallfurious::smallfurious:

[Zjordan85]

Expanded Psionics Handbook p.37

Gain Psionic Focus: Merely holding a reservoir of psionic
power points in mind gives psionic characters a special energy.
Psionic characters can put that energy to work without
actually paying a power point cost—they can become psionically
focused as a special use of the Concentration skill.
If you have 1 or more power points available, you can
meditate to attempt to become psionically focused. The DC to
become psionically focused is 20. Meditating is a full-round
action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
When you are psionically focused, you can expend your focus
on any single Concentration check you make thereafter.
When you expend your focus in this manner, your Concentration
check is treated as if you rolled a 15. It’s like taking
10, except that the number you add to your Concentration
modifi er is 15. You can also expend your focus to gain the
benefi t of a psionic feat—many psionic feats are activated in
this way.
Once you are psionically focused, you remain focused
until you expend your focus, become unconscious, or go to
sleep (or enter a meditative trance, in the case of elans), or
until your power point reserve drops to 0.
Action: Usually none. In most cases, makinga Concentration
check doesn’t require an action; it is either a free action
(when attempted reactively) or part of another action (when
attempted actively). Meditating to gain psionic focus is a fullround
action.
Try Again: Yes, though a success doesn’t cancel the effects
of a previous failure, such as the loss of the power points for
a power being manifested or the disruption of a power being
concentrated on.
Special: You can use Concentration to manifest a power or
use a psi-like ability defensively, so as to avoid attacks of opportunity
altogether. The DC of the check is 15 + the power’s
level. If the Concentration check succeeds, you can manifest
normally without provoking any attacks of opportunity. Ifthe Concentration check fails, the power also automatically
fails and the power points are wasted, just as if your concentration
had been disrupted by a distraction.
A character with the Combat Manifestation feat (see page
44) gets a +4 bonus on Concentration checks made to manifest
a power or use a psi-like ability while on the defensive or
while grappling or pinned.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Concentration,
you get a +2 bonus on Autohypnosis checks.

[Draz74]

Or here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/skills/concentration.htm) online.

[killem2]

Ahh ok, so its just a meer check, and from what it seems to be an easy one.

[Bacris]

It's also a full-round action. That's the biggest mitigating factor.

Psionic Meditation lets you do it as a Move action, but that's a feat you have to buy.

[Andorax]

If you only utilize feats and abilities that require you to "retain" your focus, it's not really an issue. A trivial investment in Concentration (or even a halfway-decent Con score) is all you need.

If you use abilities that require you to "expend" your focus, you need a means to get it back reliably (or just resign yourself to those being "encounter powers"). That's where having a good concentration check, and ideally the Psionic Meditation feat that lets you use a Move to get it back instead of a full round action, comes into play.

There's other alternative means...Magic of Eberron has some feats that interact with Psionics, as does the Tome of Battle.

[jaybird]

It looks like, due to Psionic Focus, you can only apply one metapsionic feat to any power you manifest...:smallfrown: any ways of getting around that?

[Jeraa]

You take the Psicrystal Affinity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalAffinity) feat to get a psicrystal, then the Psicrystal Containment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalContainment) feat to let you psionicly focus your psicrystal. Then you expend the psionic focus stored in the psicrystal to power one feat, and your own psionic focus to power another.

[Stegyre]

You take the Psicrystal Affinity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalAffinity) feat to get a psicrystal, then the Psicrystal Containment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalContainment) feat to let you psionicly focus your psicrystal. Then you expend the psionic focus stored in the psicrystal to power one feat, and your own psionic focus to power another.
Two more ways of getting around it:

1. Be an Elan and pick up the feat Elan Retention, allowing you to retain your focus once per day, as an immediate action, for the cost of 3 pp.

2. Be an Ardent with the dominant ideal (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070629a) ACF, allowing you to apply metapsionics to powers in your dominant mantle without expending your focus (or focii, as the case may be).

[Amphetryon]

You take the Psicrystal Affinity (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalAffinity) feat to get a psicrystal, then the Psicrystal Containment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psicrystalContainment) feat to let you psionicly focus your psicrystal. Then you expend the psionic focus stored in the psicrystal to power one feat, and your own psionic focus to power another.

While uncommon, I've had a DM rule that the psionic focus of your psicrystal counted as yours for all purposes. . . in other words, you couldn't get a second focus with it, you just were marginally better protected from losing yours. I don't recall finding where it's specified that Psicrystal Containment allows for a SECOND psionic focus, though I'd appreciate that source.

[Siosilvar]

While uncommon, I've had a DM rule that the psionic focus of your psicrystal counted as yours for all purposes. . . in other words, you couldn't get a second focus with it, you just were marginally better protected from losing yours. I don't recall finding where it's specified that Psicrystal Containment allows for a SECOND psionic focus, though I'd appreciate that source.

"At any time when you need to expend your psionic focus, you can expend your psicrystal’s psionic focus instead, as long as the crystal is within 5 feet of you." from the feat itself makes it rather clear that you have a focus and the psicrystal has a focus, else what's the point of that "instead"?

[Amphetryon]

"At any time when you need to expend your psionic focus, you can expend your psicrystal’s psionic focus instead, as long as the crystal is within 5 feet of you." from the feat itself makes it rather clear that you have a focus and the psicrystal has a focus, else what's the point of that "instead"?

While I agree, the DMs who said it was one or the other called the use of the word "instead" there one of pedantic clarity, rather than allowing for multiple foci. In other words, the argument was that the verbiage there was simply to allow the psicrystal's psionic focus to have a use at all.

[mattie_p]

Will the FAQ count?


I have a question about psionic focuses. Psicrystal containment allows you to use your psicrystal’s focus instead of your own, and Epic Psionic Focus allows you to use the same psionic focus to power two psionic feats. What isn’t covered is whether you can expend two psionic focuses at the same time. Can you use both your own personal focus and the psicrystal’s focus in the same round? For example, could you use your personal focus for Deep Impact and your psicrystal’s focus for Psionic Weapon on the same attack?

You can use them simultaneously if you are doing differentthings with the expended focus, but if you are using two foci simultaneously to amp damage on the same weapon, it probably doesn’t work—unless the DM feels there is a good reason to allow the combo. I could certainly see this being allowed in some cases.

[Andorax]

Well...not that it's what you're looking for, but there's also an Epic feat that lets you expend focus on 2 things at once (retake to be able to spend on 3 at once, 4 at once, etc.)

[Demonic_Spoon]

No that we have all the serious answers. :smalltongue:

Psionic Focus is inner peace through superior mind powers.