(3.5) Friend wants to be a Psion

[booliusdoolius]

Hey all, my friend was planning on being a Psion and wants me to help him make a character, but im not sure how psion really works. He wants to be a catfolk psion. If someone could explain Psion, i'd really appreciate it.

[Kelb_Panthera]

It's an awful lot like playing a sorcerer except with MP instead of a spell slots.

As you level you get more power points and higher level powers known. You pick the new powers known on level up as described in the class table.

This is the one that a lot of people trip over and end up thinking psionics is "overpowered;" you cannot spend more power point on a single manifestation of a power than your manifester level (caster level equivalent). For most characters and a good portion of their career as a psion that manifester level is equal to their class level.

On a similar note: damage dealing powers don't automatically scale with manifester level. An energy bolt only -ever- does 5d6 unless you spend the extra power points to augment it, as described in that power's description, for example.

There are a number of tricks that are unique to psionicists but you're better off just looking up a handbook if you want to get into the nitty-gritty like that.

[Zombulian]

Uh well. It's like a Sorcerer in that it has a given number of powers known that it doesn't have to prepare. Unlike a Sorcerer, it does not have spell slots that it has to use on spells of a particular level. Rather, it has a pool of Power Points that it can spend on whatever powers it knows, with higher level powers costing more than lower level powers. Additionally, many powers can be "Augmented" by spending more than the base cost of power points to manifest the power - though you cannot spend more power points on a power than your manifester level (most commonly equal to character level, though there are ways to increase it through feats or items).

Those are the basics. When it comes to details and power choices you're well served to just look up a handbook.

[BlackOnyx]

A link to a decent handbook & basic explanation of the class, if you're having a hard time finding one:


http://minmaxforum.com/index.php?topic=5343.0