The 1 point Psion(ic character)

[weckar]

I was just reading over the rules for psionics again, and I thought of hypothetical builds for a 1-point psion(ic character).
According to the expanded concentration rules, you can achieve psionic focus as long as you have PP, and can maintain it for as long as you want until you lose consciousness or run out of PP.
Now, there are certain feats that actually give pretty neat abilities as long as you stay psionically focused. Speed of Thought and Up the Walls come to mind.

Now, what I'm wondering is how many of these abilities can we get on one character, what race should this character have (preferrably a psionic race to get the PP required) and what class can make best use of these abilities?

I had several ideas. I'll give one now, and pitch a few later once more people provide insight:

A Fighter can have Shot on the Run by CL 4. Combined with above feats that could allow him to pull off some difficult shots, not to mention in-world it would be really cool to be shooting arrows while running up a wall.

[Afgncaap5]

Well, depending on how you play it... it occurs to me that you might be able to pull off some interesting tricks with a Ninja if you went this way. I wouldn't presume to have any suggestions on just what those tricks might be, but running up the walls while tossing shuriken (as you suggest for a Fighter) would be visually fun if nothing else. Maybe toss on a couple Skill Tricks from Complete Scoundrel, see if you can get a true League Of Assassins type of thing going.

[Piggy Knowles]

A melee class would love Deep Impact alongside Power Attack shenanigans and other force multipliers.

[eastmabl]

I am hardly the expert at XPH, but couldn't you be an elan and achieve this? They're naturally psionic and start with 2 power points.

[Irk]

A melee class would love Deep Impact alongside Power Attack shenanigans and other force multipliers.

Doesn't Deep Impact require one to expend more than one PP, though?

[rollforeigninit]

Doesn't Deep Impact require one to expend more than one PP, though?

Nope, just expend your focus.

[incarnate236]

Scout with Psionic Shot, Greater Psionic Shot, and Fell Shot. Stacks the Skirmish damage with the 4d6 from the Psionic Feats and then regains the focus the next round.

[Maginomicon]

I built a psionic thri-kreen with spellcasting classes so that he could take 15 on concentration checks pretty-much whenever he liked for the purposes of combat casting. He also took the Arcane Focus feat so that he'd have an arcane equivalent of psionic focus on top of that.

[weckar]

Well, any of the psionic races could do it. Elans are naturally hardier, of course, but there's no reason we couldn't use, say, a Synad.

Most importantly is that we want to avoid abilities that expend the focus, unless we are using them as guaranteed encounter enders.

I also found a few more feats we could use:

Focused Shield (+1 AC shield while psionically focused)
Focused Skill user (+2 to three skills)

[koboldish]

Wow, that's a great idea! I can imagine all sorts of fluff reasons and stuff. Being Psionic and not having powers and stuff. Yes. All of the stuff. Anyways, thanks a ton for posting this idea! I don't really have any input, but I do have a question: How viable would a build like this be in a tier 3-4 mostly low op campaign? It seems like a lot of fun, but things are less fun if they don't work.

[weckar]

I definitely think it'll work in such a sense. It may actually make for a very fluffy and fun Monk build, if you care to take it that far. I find monks usually get more feats than they need anyway, and athleticism fits right into their package.

[Urpriest]

Pyrokineticists are intended to work like this.

You should probably call it the 1 point Psionic or the 1 point Psychic Warrior though, as nothing you do will especially resemble a Psion.

[weckar]

Oh, I forgot about pyroks.... and I call any user of psionics a psion. I wasn't referring to a Psion. Same way that a Mage is a mage is a mage.

[Urpriest]

Oh, I forgot about pyroks.... and I call any user of psionics a psion. I wasn't referring to a Psion. Same way that a Mage is a mage is a mage.

But there aren't any Mages, that's the whole point...

I feel like there are some players out there who actually think that all Psionic characters are Psions, so this would end up confusing such folk to no end.

[weckar]

Aye, too true. I made some adjustments, hope you like. Any insights into the actual issue you'd like to share? :P

[BornValyrian]

There's also the Illithid Heritage Feats. If you sink a hefty number of feats into it (illithid heritage, one other feat, 4 illithid grapple, and illithid extraction) you could eat brains when you grapple with your 4 tentacle attacks. It gives temporary PP equal to the 2d4 Int damage you deal.

Its a steep investment (a Human PsyWar who invests all his feats into it can do this at 6th level, and thats without psychic reformation) but I thought I'd just throw it out there. The don't require maintaining a focus either.

[weckar]

That's a pretty steep investment for a single trick... It'll be cool a few times, but... Also, doesn't it require 4 successive grapple checks to work?

[BornValyrian]

yes, plus the one to actually eat the brain. Not saying it was particularly good, but it exists. It does have improved grab with the tentacles, and the grapples are free actions after the first.

I thought it up when I wanted people in an e6 game that were being converted into Mind flayers.

[Irk]

Nope, just expend your focus.

I was looking at the 3.0 version. My bad.

[Particle_Man]

I think soulknives get something like this, and bonus feats to boot!

[Rubik]

There's also the Illithid Heritage Feats. If you sink a hefty number of feats into it (illithid heritage, one other feat, 4 illithid grapple, and illithid extraction) you could eat brains when you grapple with your 4 tentacle attacks. It gives temporary PP equal to the 2d4 Int damage you deal.

Its a steep investment (a Human PsyWar who invests all his feats into it can do this at 6th level, and thats without psychic reformation) but I thought I'd just throw it out there. The don't require maintaining a focus either.Ignoring Illithid Extraction, I played a ghost egoist/thrallherd that did this. He took all those feats and possessed his thrall via his malevolence ability. The thrall then exploded into a mass of corporeal tentacles.

Good times.

[TuggyNE]

Scout with Psionic Shot, Greater Psionic Shot, and Fell Shot. Stacks the Skirmish damage with the 4d6 from the Psionic Feats and then regains the focus the next round.

You'd need Psicrystal Affinity and Psicrystal Containment too, unfortunately. Which in turn requires ML 3, which not all psionic characters will have.

Alternatively, drop GPS and just use Fell Shot.

[weckar]

Actually, couldn't Practiced Manifester fill that requirement (up to ML 4, I think?). It's a bit of a feat tax, but might well be worth it if we can milk it.

[Rubik]

Actually, couldn't Practiced Manifester fill that requirement (up to ML 4, I think?). It's a bit of a feat tax, but might well be worth it if we can milk it.Only if you have levels in a manifesting class already.

[weckar]

Aye, you're right. I didn't see it in the prerequisites. Odd that they would put a detail like that in the fluff text.

[Segev]

While it's still an underpowered class, Soulknife is almost custom-made for this kind of focus. Gets Wild Talent for free, but has literally nothing on its own that uses those power points.

[Thiyr]

This (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=12109.0) might be of interest to you, as far as making the most use of all this.