Reserve Feats For Psionics

[druid zook]

Whenever I play a spellcaster, I look for good Reserve feats for my PC. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen anything comparable to reserve feats for psionics.

[Manyasone]

Whenever I play a spellcaster, I look for good Reserve feats for my PC. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen anything comparable to reserve feats for psionics.

Azure talent plus psycarnum infusion work for me...
If you're allowed to use MoI. It's a battery, sort off

[Psyren]

As noted, recharge tricks (like the above Azure Infusion) are your best bet, but they are considerably more powerful than reserve feats, and so could land you in trouble with your GM. Personally I would just pack some cognizance crystals, keeping them charged on your off days and then using them on heavier days.

[OldTrees1]

Whenever I play a spellcaster, I look for good Reserve feats for my PC. I was wondering if anyone has ever seen anything comparable to reserve feats for psionics.

No I do not remember anything specifically comparable to Reserve Feats for psionics. However you could show your DM the psychic weapon enchancement (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/weapons.htm#psychic) and design psionic reserve feats in a similar vein.

[Manyasone]

As noted, recharge tricks (like the above Azure Infusion) are your best bet, but they are considerably more powerful than reserve feats, and so could land you in trouble with your GM. Personally I would just pack some cognizance crystals, keeping them charged on your off days and then using them on heavier days.

While in general I agree with your statement, I must however add that this trick isn't that powerful. Out of combat it's handy to save some PsP's when using this for buffs. In combat, however, it costs the most valuable resource to recharge the trick.

[lord_khaine]

As noted, recharge tricks (like the above Azure Infusion) are your best bet, but they are considerably more powerful than reserve feats, and so could land you in trouble with your GM. Personally I would just pack some cognizance crystals, keeping them charged on your off days and then using them on heavier days.

They are also absurdly expensive though. Its like the pricing did not take into account that psionic powers dont scale on their own :smallfrown:
If you get some then i would recomend the ones to 4k.

That or perhaps a few Dorjes. Lowlevel psionic powers scale a lot better than most spells. And you can get a lot of value from Vigor or Crystal shard with a raised manifester level.
Especially so if you craft it yourself.

[ShurikVch]

Mind Blade (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/soulknife.htm)? Fire Lash (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/prestigeClasses/pyrokineticist.htm)? Mind Arrow (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060403a&page=2)?

[Psyren]

They are also absurdly expensive though. Its like the pricing did not take into account that psionic powers dont scale on their own :smallfrown:
If you get some then i would recomend the ones to 4k.

Well, the thing is - they use the exact same pricing as Pearls of Power, because that's basically what they are. Unlike Pearls however, you aren't forced only to recall a spell you've already used - the points can be used for any spell you know. And also unlike pearls, you can use a higher-level crystal to remanifest a lower-level power.

I probably wouldn't use them for very high-level stuff either though.


That or perhaps a few Dorjes. Lowlevel psionic powers scale a lot better than most spells. And you can get a lot of value from Vigor or Crystal shard with a raised manifester level.
Especially so if you craft it yourself.

Agreed, Dorjes work well too. Unlike wands, they go all the way up to 9ths, plus powers tend to be more versatile than spells (in general, more options packed into a single power, minus things like Shadow spells anyway.)

[AnachroNinja]

Well, the thing is - they use the exact same pricing as Pearls of Power, because that's basically what they are. Unlike Pearls however, you aren't forced only to recall a spell you've already used - the points can be used for any spell you know. And also unlike pearls, you can use a higher-level crystal to remanifest a lower-level power.

I probably wouldn't use them for very high-level stuff either though.





I think his point was that they aren't useful for the low level stuff. A pearl of power for first level spells gives you a first level spell at your CL, whether that's 1 or 20. A cognizance crystal only gives you that first level power with one pp invested. The lack of auto scaling makes them less useful at higher levels unless you primarily use non scaling or utility powers.

[Psyren]

I think his point was that they aren't useful for the low level stuff. A pearl of power for first level spells gives you a first level spell at your CL, whether that's 1 or 20. A cognizance crystal only gives you that first level power with one pp invested. The lack of auto scaling makes them less useful at higher levels unless you primarily use non scaling or utility powers.

But they do scale in many ways. That power still still be manifested at your ML, and any variables based solely on that (like range, duration, or beating PR) will go up too. If you're 8th-level for instance, that Share Pain you manifested on yourself and your Psicrystal will last 8 hours no matter whether you used your CC or your internal reserve to cast it.

What augments do is more like Heighten (raise the DC) or simply having higher level versions of the spell (e.g Psionic Charm, which is either Person or Monster depending on augments, two different-level spells.) The different spell levels resulting from these phenomena would have required different pearls, just like it requires different crystals for a psion.

So the correct strategy in a nutshell is - save your crystal(s) to use on all your non-augment powers, and manifest the augmentable ones normally.

[Segev]

In 3.0, a lot of psychic feats required reserves of X pp or more to remain effective. These were, in many ways, like reserve feats in that respect. In 3.5, those feats all had their mechanics rewritten so that you had to be maintaining psychic focus to get them.

If you want psychic reserve feats, it wouldn't be hard to come up with some that just operate based on how many pp you have in reserve.

[druid zook]

Okay folks, we have identified a need that v3.5 does not fulfill. You game designers out there ought to get to work on a new supplement for psionics that has psionic reserve feats.

Are there any non-WotC psionic supplements with reserve feat-like powers? I'm not aware of any.

[golem1972]

If I remember correctly, one of the 3rd party pathfinder companies was talking about "sequestral feats". Basically reserve feats for psionics, but you expended a use of a power in order to power up the feats. Don't know if they published any of them.

Was Dreamscarred Press.

[AnachroNinja]

But they do scale in many ways. That power still still be manifested at your ML, and any variables based solely on that (like range, duration, or beating PR) will go up too. If you're 8th-level for instance, that Share Pain you manifested on yourself and your Psicrystal will last 8 hours no matter whether you used your CC or your internal reserve to cast it.

What augments do is more like Heighten (raise the DC) or simply having higher level versions of the spell (e.g Psionic Charm, which is either Person or Monster depending on augments, two different-level spells.) The different spell levels resulting from these phenomena would have required different pearls, just like it requires different crystals for a psion.

So the correct strategy in a nutshell is - save your crystal(s) to use on all your non-augment powers, and manifest the augmentable ones normally.

Right, I'm just putting forth the opinion that in some respects crystals are similarly limited as compared to pearls. Not to a power you've used that day, but to the subset of powers that do not suffer from a lack of auto scaling.

[StreamOfTheSky]

I've always allowed Reserve feats for psionic characters, using the suggested matches between schools and disciplines where appropriate.
Mostly it's for allowing them to get the blasty Reserve feats, though.

How I rule it:
The psion when he gains his pp for the day can choose to "quarantine" pp to power his Reserve feat(s). He can augment a power to effectively increase its level when doing so. If the power would only enable the feat's use under certain criteria, those must be chosen for the quarantined pp.
For example, a Kineticist w/ Fiery Burst augments Energy Surge (locked as fire for that usage) to 9 pp and can then use Fiery Burst at will for 5d6 damage (he has a 5th level fire power in reserve).
The quarantined pp still count towards having any pp left (ie, ability to gain psionic focus), but cannot be used for any other purpose than to manifest the pre-chosen power w/ its parameters (following from the above example, if he wanted to use those 9 pp, he would have to do so as a fire type Energy Burst augmented to 9 pp).
The psionic character can't use Overchannel, Wild Surge, or the like to increase the ML of a power to be held in reserve....but the +1 ML to powers of that subtype gained from the Reserve feat itself *does* apply to how far you can augment the reserve power.

I've never had a psionic PC in my games ever take me up on that offer and grab a Reserve feat, so I can't comment on how it works in play other than absolving me of feeling any remorse for when they run out of pp mid-day and feel useless. :smalltongue:

[weckar]

As far as I can tell, reserves for psionics would be far more powerful than for magic. Mostly because, unlike locking in a high level slot to make them work well, you just have to reserve a certain amount of points you don't spend - which in the end could equally be spent on low-level powers.

[Rerednaw]

I've always allowed Reserve feats for psionic characters, using the suggested matches between schools and disciplines where appropriate.
Mostly it's for allowing them to get the blasty Reserve feats, though.

How I rule it:
The psion when he gains his pp for the day can choose to "quarantine" pp to power his Reserve feat(s). He can augment a power to effectively increase its level when doing so. If the power would only enable the feat's use under certain criteria, those must be chosen for the quarantined pp.
For example, a Kineticist w/ Fiery Burst augments Energy Surge (locked as fire for that usage) to 9 pp and can then use Fiery Burst at will for 5d6 damage (he has a 5th level fire power in reserve).
The quarantined pp still count towards having any pp left (ie, ability to gain psionic focus), but cannot be used for any other purpose than to manifest the pre-chosen power w/ its parameters (following from the above example, if he wanted to use those 9 pp, he would have to do so as a fire type Energy Burst augmented to 9 pp).
The psionic character can't use Overchannel, Wild Surge, or the like to increase the ML of a power to be held in reserve....but the +1 ML to powers of that subtype gained from the Reserve feat itself *does* apply to how far you can augment the reserve power.

I've never had a psionic PC in my games ever take me up on that offer and grab a Reserve feat, so I can't comment on how it works in play other than absolving me of feeling any remorse for when they run out of pp mid-day and feel useless. :smalltongue:

I allow/ use essentially this. Or Earth Sense/Power + Midnight Augmentation + Bestow Power and recharge.