[3.5] No XP Campaign and XP Components: Psionics Edition

[Phelix-Mu]

Hi there,

I'm in a campaign that doesn't use experience, but has leveling up based on major plot events and such. So, we've already substituted expensive material components for experience for spells (5gp/1xp), but with psionics entering the campaign in a more serious way, I was wondering if there is a psionics-flavored way to pay for xp costs for spells that would keep the "no components" aspect to manifesting.

Obviously not looking for official stuff, here, just more what others have done or your own nifty ideas for how to make up a new mechanic to cover this situation.

Thanks.:smallamused:

[avr]

Maybe reduce maximum PP for a few days? How long should be fixed, but set it based on the pacing you expect in your campaign.

[NamelessNPC]

ability burn?

[Phelix-Mu]

ability burn?

Hmm, I read about that way back, but found it a silly rule at the time for what it was meant to do (way too much throwback to older editions). But maybe it's suitable here.

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

Pathfinder uses the 5 gp = 1 xp rule. Item creation costs 70% of the market price and all spells that would cost XP have material components instead. Even if you get raised from the dead, it either inflicts 2 permanent negative levels or 2 points of Constitution drain (both of which can be removed by restoration).

[Psyren]

You can simply use the PF versions, all of which are on the PFSRD. PF Psionics has exactly three powers that wound up requiring gp costs to balance them - Bend Reality, Reality Revision and Incarnate. All the rest used a combination of ability burn, negative levels, various nerfs and other componentless methods to balance them instead, and all three are bannable if you truly want zero gp costing.

[Phelix-Mu]

You can simply use the PF versions, all of which are on the PFSRD. PF Psionics has exactly three powers that wound up requiring gp costs to balance them - Bend Reality, Reality Revision and Incarnate. All the rest used a combination of ability burn, negative levels, and various nerfs to balance them instead, and all three are bannable if you truly want no gp costing.

If I were DM, I might go this route. Not sure I can get the DM to opt for non-3.5 stuff, but he's going to have to houserule the xp thing anyway. I was currently thinking of some kind of ectoplasm cost, where ectoplasm is generated by investing pp in it, kind of a sink for pp on days you don't use all of them. I guess that isn't terribly different than ability burn or negative levels, since they all basically deprive the PC of a small amount of versatility/power in exchange for an unusually strong power.

The list of powers with xp components is pretty low (though it's an epic campaign, and those are the powers likely to get used often), and the gp substitution is probably the fallback position. I just wanted to see if there was anything novel that allowed psionics to keep it's materialism-free/self-sufficient flavor thingy.

[Psyren]

I'm not sure what you mean by "non-3.5" - any changes you make to any of the powers will be a deviation from 3.5 anyway. The PF versions simply provide you with an already-playtested, material-free roadmap to follow. Dropping them into 3.5 requires little to no work on your part.

Many require no adjustment at all. For instance, Psionic Sequester (Ensconce in PF) and Fusion simply dropped the XP cost altogether. More abusable ones like Psychic Reformation and Psychic Chirurgery added on ability burn/negative levels to keep them from being spammed.

[Phelix-Mu]

I'm not sure what you mean by "non-3.5" - any changes you make to any of the powers will be a deviation from 3.5 anyway. The PF versions simply provide you with an already-playtested, material-free roadmap to follow. Dropping them into 3.5 requires little to no work on your part.


The DM (and I reiterate, it's not me), is pretty RAW stickler aside from this bit about experience points (which altered much more than he thought it would). I probably can't sell him on substituting in the PF stuff, even though what we finally end up with might not be all that different.

I'll have to look into the PF stuff more closely. At epic levels, psychic reformation and psychic chirurgery are extremely useful (minions, yay!), so those fixes might be most pertinent. I will consider advising that he just drop xp costs from some of them, especially cause, at this level, abuse is all over the place, and single powers are unlikely to destroy the game (which has already allowed Epic Spellcasting with large amounts of mitigation).

Thanks for the advice, in any case.:smallsmile: