How does one manifest an Unknown Power from a power stone?

[noce]

Here's the relevant link for the rule. (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm)

Hello all, I came across this rule and can't fully understand it.
Basically, from what I read, I could use a power stone an endless number of times to manifest the power inside it, as follows:

I have to roll Psycraft 3 times, one to make contact, one to discover the powers in the stone, one to manifest one of them
Since the first Psycraft check can be done in advance, I have to spend 2 rounds to manifest the power inside the power stone
I can only succeed if the power is in my list
If I fail the third Psycraft check, and only in this case, I cannot try again until tomorrow
I use my power points, my manifester level, I can use my feats and I benefit from my magic items (I manifest it "normally")
The power stone is not flushed in the process


Is all this right?
On this forum and elsewhere online, I read about people saying that it can only be done 1/day, or that the process flushes the stone, or that it indeed is too strong and is banned at their table.

Is there a RAW consensus about this process?
Thank you.

[Tzardok]

Here's the relevant link for the rule. (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm)

Hello all, I came across this rule and can't fully understand it.
Basically, from what I read, I could use a power stone an endless number of times to manifest the power inside it, as follows:

I have to roll Psycraft 3 times, one to make contact, one to discover the powers in the stone (can a stone have more than one?), one to manifest one of them

Yes, a power stone can have more than one power (https://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/powerStones.htm). No, upon succesfully making contact, you automatically know what powers the stone holds. The second roll is to see wether you understand the power enough to "borrow" it.


Since the first Psycraft check can be done in advance, I have to spend 2 rounds to manifest the power inside the power stone

I'm not sure the first Psycraft check can be done in advance the same way you can address a power stone. I think the first two Psycraft checks are made as part of the same full-round action, while the third check is made as part of manifesting the power on your next action.


If I fail the third Psycraft check, and only in this case, I cannot try again until tomorrow

Or if you fail to use the "borrowed" power within one round, yes.




I use my power points, my manifester level, I can use my feats and I benefit from my magic items (I manifest it "normally")
The power stone is not flushed in the process


All correct.

I don't think this ability is too powerful, even with the ability to do it more often. You get the ability to manifest a power you don't know in return for spending two and three skill checks on manifesting it.

[tyckspoon]

Text is a bit sloppy about it because it sort of just offhand mentions 'you can do this with a power stone' but does not make much effort to clarify further how this works compared to accessing a power from another psionic creature. But, as best as I understand it:

You always have to spend one full round action 'making contact' with the source you wish to manifest from. This is 'similar to' but is -not- the same act as 'Addressing' a Power Stone - you cannot perform this ahead of time (fluff wise, it's the difference between 'I am opening a channel with the stone to borrow the power into my own mind' and 'I have determined the mental command required to make the stone trigger itself.')

Once you have spent that action and succeeded the related skill check, you must make 2 more Psicraft checks: One to 'understand' the power you wish to manifest, and then another to actually manifest it. If you fail either of these checks, or succeed but change your mind and choose -not- to manifest the power, you lose your ability to access that power in this method for the rest of the day. Implication here is that if you complete everything required and do manifest the unknown power, you can potentially perform the process again later.

The Psicraft checks are pretty trivial if you've been keeping that skill capped, so functionally the process boils down to 'you can manifest a power you don't know from a power stone by spending an extra full round action first.' There is no indication that this discharges the power stone, although I would consider that a reasonable house rule if a DM finds this too powerful/too cheap a means of getting extra 'powers known' for a psionic character - it's a pretty good deal for non-combat utility powers or long-lasting buffs, especially ones that augment well, but it's far too slow a process to use for most things in combat timing.