Using Psionic Focus on spells.

[sullygardezy]

Hi,

I've been trying to find some clarification on Psionic Focus. Reading through the concentration rules, it states, "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."

It sounds like you're able to spend your Psionic Focus to cast one Psionic Spell without expending PP, but it isn't all too clear to me if that's how it actually works. It seems balanced enough to where that would work since it's a standard action(unless you have Psionic Meditation which then spends your move action) to become psionically focused and provokes an AoO.

[Jeraa]

You can't spend you Psionic Focus to manifest a power without spending points (at least not without some ability that lets you do so, but I don't know of any). Anything that can use your Psionic Focus says so. Metapsionic feats, for example, require spending your focus to use. Merely being focused allows use of the Up The Walls feat. A Pyrokineticist (prestige class) can spend their focus to activate their Firewalk ability. And so on.

Basically, you expend (or maintain) your focus to power some other ability. By default, the only thing you can spend your focus on is to effectively Take 15 on a Concentration check instead of rolling. Any other use requires some sort of feat, class ability, or some other special ability.

[sullygardezy]

You can't spend you Psionic Focus to manifest a power without spending points (at least not without some ability that lets you do so, but I don't know of any). Anything that can use your Psionic Focus says so. Metapsionic feats, for example, require spending your focus to use. Merely being focused allows use of the Up The Walls feat. A Pyrokineticist (prestige class) can spend their focus to activate their Firewalk ability. And so on.

Basically, you expend (or maintain) your focus to power some other ability. By default, the only thing you can spend your focus on is to effectively Take 15 on a Concentration check instead of rolling. Any other use requires some sort of feat, class ability, or some other special ability.

Ah ok, thank's for the clarification! I kinda figured that my thought was too good to be true and something everyone would abuse to get around the low amount of PP Psions have at lower levels.