Regaining Psionic Focus

[thompur]

Is there any way to regain your Psionic Focus faster than a full round of meditation? I'm fairly new to psionics.:smallredface:

[eggs]

The Psionic Meditation feat makes it a Move action. Combined with Hustle, that can turn it into a swift action.

There's also the Instant Clarity feat in Tome of Battle that lets manifesters regain focus as a swift action a few times per day.

[Andreaz]

The Psionic Meditation feat makes it a Move action. Combined with Hustle, that can turn it into a swift action.

There's also the Instant Clarity feat in Tome of Battle that lets manifesters regain focus as a swift action a few times per day.
Isolating the methods:
1) Psionic Meditation. This feat tones it down to Move Action
2) Instant Clarity lets you regain focus when you use maneuvers


Hustle is not an extension to psionic meditation, but works well with it: It's a swift action power that gives you a move action.

[supermonkeyjoe]

You can also gain an additional psionic focus with psicrystal affinity and psicrystal containment feats found here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm)

[Psyren]

To round out the above list, Ascetic Psion from Eberron (SoS) lets you regain focus as a standard. But since you can swap any standard action for a move action, Psionic Meditation is still the best way.

[Andreaz]

To round out the above list, Ascetic Psion from Eberron (SoS) lets you regain focus as a standard. But since you can swap any standard action for a move action, Psionic Meditation is still the best way.Well, with both together you should be able to regain focus thrice in the same round, which has marginal and extremely limited uses, but it's there.

[Psyren]

Well, with both together you should be able to regain focus thrice in the same round, which has marginal and extremely limited uses, but it's there.

That's just it, you don't need Ascetic Psion to do that. You can simply use Psionic Meditation twice (once as a move, and once as a standard-turned-move) then get your third one from your swift (e.g. Hustle or Instant Clarity.)

One use for this - if you have an extra standard (e.g. Schism), you can use one of them to manifest a power and apply 3 metapsionic feats to it. You'll need a Psicrystal to store one of the foci for you, but you'll be able to recharge it after manifesting the power.

[Andreaz]

Ah, true..

[Darth Stabber]

Without extra actions you could not regain you psionic focus 3 times in one round for several reasons.
1) you can't gain a psionic when you already have one, it's a bit not an integer.
2) to my knowledge there are no ways to spend your psionic focus as a free action, they are either actions themselves or part of another action.
3) regaining your psionic focus through instant clarity requires an manuever, and none of them are free actions.

The most you could do is 2 assuming you had psycrystal containment.

Also given you may only spend psi-foci you have, you really can't apply three metapsionic feats to one power, since the most you can ever have at one time is 2. This why psionic mailmen don't work as well as sorcerer mailmen, even if you modify incantrix for psionics.

[Psyren]

3) regaining your psionic focus through instant clarity requires an manuever, and none of them are free actions.

You're forgetting that a swift has the same "timing" as a free action. Two rules from the SRD:


You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally.


You can take a swift action any time you would normally be allowed to take a free action.

The only difference between the two is you get one swift per round (normally.)

What this all means is that, while manifesting a power, you can expend focus, regain it as a swift (using a swift-action maneuver), and expend it again. Then expend your psicrystal's focus, for a total of 3 foci. This leaves you your move and second standard (e.g. Schism) to regain both foci for next round. Rinse and repeat.

This works because most maneuvers don't require concentration - they are Ex (or Su) abilities. Thus, you can perform a swift-action maneuver while concentrating to manifest (or maintain) a power.

[Talionis]

To round out the above list, Ascetic Psion from Eberron (SoS) lets you regain focus as a standard. But since you can swap any standard action for a move action, Psionic Meditation is still the best way.

Agree.

I am fond of getting Travel Devotion (Complete Champion) or Sudden Leap (Tome of Battle) to get a move action as a swift action in this sort of combo.

Swift action moves are nice for other reasons too, but for build that is regaining Psychic Focus often, swift action moves are even nicer.

[Answerer]

Agree.

I am fond of getting Travel Devotion (Complete Champion) or Sudden Leap (Tome of Battle) to get a move action as a swift action in this sort of combo.

Swift action moves are nice for other reasons too, but for build that is regaining Psychic Focus often, swift action moves are even nicer.
Both Travel Devotion and Sudden Leap allow you to move as a Swift action, but neither gives you a Move action, they simply let you move. They cannot be used for regaining Psionic Focus (or doing any of the other things that take a Move action). They only let you move.

Hustle, on the other hand, definitely does give you a full-fledged Move action. That you can use, but it'll cost you 3 PP per time you do it.

[Talionis]

Both Travel Devotion and Sudden Leap allow you to move as a Swift action, but neither gives you a Move action, they simply let you move. They cannot be used for regaining Psionic Focus (or doing any of the other things that take a Move action). They only let you move.

Hustle, on the other hand, definitely does give you a full-fledged Move action. That you can use, but it'll cost you 3 PP per time you do it.

Thanks, I meant just move. And its good to be able to move, but you are right it won't grant more move actions. Thanks for the catch.

[candycorn]

Without extra actions you could not regain you psionic focus 3 times in one round for several reasons.
1) you can't gain a psionic when you already have one, it's a bit not an integer.
2) to my knowledge there are no ways to spend your psionic focus as a free action, they are either actions themselves or part of another action.
3) regaining your psionic focus through instant clarity requires an manuever, and none of them are free actions.

The most you could do is 2 assuming you had psycrystal containment.

Also given you may only spend psi-foci you have, you really can't apply three metapsionic feats to one power, since the most you can ever have at one time is 2. This why psionic mailmen don't work as well as sorcerer mailmen, even if you modify incantrix for psionics.

Disagree on the last part.

Between Schism, Psicrystal containment, and gaining focus as a move action, psions can do respectably on metapsionics.

Add on that psions can literally manifest every power point they have in a round, at least at mid-high levels, they have more flexibility when targeting, and can try 2,5, even 20 times to get off a stun or daze that gives you another round.

Add on that psions, with even 2 power points, can refill their PP completely in a few minutes... And you have a mailman with the endurance of a warlock and the power of a wizard.

[Darth Stabber]

You're forgetting that a swift has the same "timing" as a free action. Two rules from the SRD:





The only difference between the two is you get one swift per round (normally.)

What this all means is that, while manifesting a power, you can expend focus, regain it as a swift (using a swift-action maneuver), and expend it again. Then expend your psicrystal's focus, for a total of 3 foci. This leaves you your move and second standard (e.g. Schism) to regain both foci for next round. Rinse and repeat.

This works because most maneuvers don't require concentration - they are Ex (or Su) abilities. Thus, you can perform a swift-action maneuver while concentrating to manifest (or maintain) a power.

This is then a case of a houserule that I misfiled in my head under real rules, but I have not allowed the use of a free action during a standard or more action, with the exception of inbetween discrete attacks during a full attack sequence. I sit corrected.

[Rubik]

Synchronicity is a power in Complete Psionic that takes a standard action to manifest and allows you to ready a standard action. However, if you can manifest it without spending the full action (such as with Quicken, Twin, or Linked Power), you can ready an action to regain your focus in the middle of a manifestation, and possibly add an additional psionic focus or four. Add on the fact that you can apply metapsionic feats multiple times (although multiple Maximizes and Quickens are a waste of time), and you could double-Twin or double-Link a Synchronicity and add multiple metapsionic feats to a single power.

[Psyren]

The problem with twinning/quickening/etc. Synchronicity is that doing so costs foci itself, unless of course you're an Ardent, and even then you'll need Mantle Substitution to get Synchronicity onto a mantle so you can Dominant Ideal it. (Time is an obvious choice.) Without DI, you end up breaking even or even coming out behind action economy-wise.

Twin Power
Start Focused (w/ Psicrystal Focused) = 2 foci, all actions
Manifest Twinned Synchronicity, expending 1 focus = 1 focus, -1 standard
Get two standards back, use 1 to regain focus = 2 foci, all actions
Net effect = 0

Quicken Power
Start Focused (w/ Psicrystal Focused) = 2 foci, all actions
Manifest Quickened Synchronicity, expending 1 focus = -1 focus, -1 swift
Get 1 standard back, use 1 to regain focus = 2 foci, all actions except swift
Net effect = (-swift), can't repeat.

This is why a method (like Hustle/Instant Clarity) that trades your swift for a focus without needing you to expend focus is preferable.

[Rubik]

The problem with twinning/quickening/etc. Synchronicity is that doing so costs foci itself, unless of course you're an Ardent, and even then you'll need Mantle Substitution to get Synchronicity onto a mantle so you can Dominant Ideal it. (Time is an obvious choice.) Without DI, you end up breaking even or even coming out behind action economy-wise.

Twin Power
Start Focused (w/ Psicrystal Focused) = 2 foci, all actions
Manifest Twinned Synchronicity, expending 1 focus = 1 focus, -1 standard
Get two standards back, use 1 to regain focus = 2 foci, all actions
Net effect = 0

Quicken Power
Start Focused (w/ Psicrystal Focused) = 2 foci, all actions
Manifest Quickened Synchronicity, expending 1 focus = -1 focus, -1 swift
Get 1 standard back, use 1 to regain focus = 2 foci, all actions except swift
Net effect = (-swift), can't repeat.

This is why a method (like Hustle/Instant Clarity) that trades your swift for a focus without needing you to expend focus is preferable.Thing is, you can always regain your focus in the interim, at least when Linked Power is involved.