Psychic Reformation

[Tor the Fallen]

This seems like possibly the most broke ability ever. Basically, it would allow any character to know any spell/power/feat/skill that were ever available to that character.

For reference:
Psychic Reformation
Telepathy [Mind-Affecting]
Level: Psion/wilder 4
Display: Auditory, mental, and visual
Manifesting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 7, XP; see text
When this power is manifested, the subject can choose to spend its most recently gained skill points differently (picking new skills and abandoning old ones if it chooses) and to choose a different feat from the one it selected when advancing from its previous level to its current level.

The subject can also choose to forget powers it acquired when advancing to its current level, replacing them with new ones.

The subject can undo decisions of these sorts that were made at lower levels, if both the subject and the manifester agree to pay the necessary XP before this power is manifested (see below). The subject must abide by the standard rules for selecting skills and feats, and so it cannot take feats for which it doesn’t qualify or take crossclass skills as class skills.

XP Cost
This power costs 50 XP to manifest to reformat choices made when the character reached her current level. For each additional previous level into which the revision reaches, the power costs an additional 50 XP. The manifester and subject split all XP costs evenly.

Do you need the prereq feats to continue using your PrC's abilities?
I mean, for a handful of xp, your level 15 character can be re-tooled for any situation in only 10 minutes!

This power seems ripe (ripe!) for abuse.

[Bagera]

Yes you need the prereqs for anything for it to continue to function. Yes it is incredibally powerful, but it was made to give psionic characters who have a pretty limited selection of powers to change them if they don't work out for them.

[ClericofPhwarrr]

Do you need the prereq feats to continue using your PrC's abilities?
I mean, for a handful of xp, your level 15 character can be re-tooled for any situation in only 10 minutes!

This power seems ripe (ripe!) for abuse.

Yes, you do. You also need the prereq feats/skills to continue using feats with feat/skill prereq's. (I was recently looking to abuse this myself. But you can't get Great Cleave, then ditch Cleave. I was looking at better combos, but that's the jist of it.)

It's still an incredible power. The best part is that you can swap it out for something else if you don't plan on using it anymore.

[Tor the Fallen]

So if I'm, say, a Paladin5/Fighter4/Blackguard10, and I Psychic Reformation Cleave away, what level am I? How many HD? What happens to save and BAB?

[Douglas]

You would be a 19th level character with the same base saves and BAB as before. You would lose most or all (not completely sure, I think it's covered in the FAQ) of your Blackguard class features, but hit dice, saves, and BAB stay.

[Jack_Simth]

So if I'm, say, a Paladin5/Fighter4/Blackguard10, and I Psychic Reformation Cleave away, what level am I? How many HD? What happens to save and BAB?

Core does not say what happens when you lose a PrC requirement. Complete Warrior (I think) does, and basically says keep HD, saves, BAB, skills, lose all else.

Local House Interpertation(Rule?):

If you're forced to give up a PrC requirement, you can no longer advance in the PrC until it is restored, but otherwise keep the majority of PrC abilities (you don't keep things that depend directly on the requirement in the DM's view - so Ranged Ledgerdomain would go away for the Rouge/Wizard/Arcane Trickster if the character no longer had access to Mage Hand; however, the Blackguard that lost the strength for Power Attack due to a Ray of Enfeeblement would keep PrC abilities, but couldn't use Power Attack, and couldn't advance as a Blackguard until the spell wore off).

If you voluntarily give up a PrC requirement, you keep HD, saves, BAB, and spellcasting advancement (keep +Existing spellcasting, but not spellcasting provided by the PrC - so a Fighter-4/Wizard-3/Blackguard-3/Mystic Theurge-7 who lost Cleave voluntarily would would cast as a Wizard-10, with no blackguard casting), but otherwise loses access to PrC abilities.

[Jack Mann]

The real problem with loss of class features is dragon disciple. Your type changes to dragon at the end of the prestige class. Dragons don't qualify for the class, so they lose their class features. Which includes the type change to dragon. Of course, now they qualify again, so they regain the features...

I'm picturing a sorcerer suddenly changing into a dragon, then changing back, continuing to go back and forth perpetually until they're reduced to a puddle of scales and elemental sludge.

[AtomicKitKat]

I believe they said something like "No ability can disqualify you from itself" or something along those lines. Personally? I'd allow Extraordinary to stay(unless it requires a pre-req, like if you get Improved Evasion but the PrC requires Evasion to qualify), most Sp and Su abilities would be lost(ad-hoc as to whether they're totally gone, partially working, or unaffected by the loss).

[rollfrenzy]

I'm picturing a sorcerer suddenly changing into a dragon, then changing back, continuing to go back and forth perpetually until they're reduced to a puddle of scales and elemental sludge.

That's called Explosive Death by Loophole or EDL It's quite rare in the realms. but spectacular to see when it happens.

[CASTLEMIKE]

I like it for sorcerers and modifying known spells with a Limited Wish.

[Stephen_E]

Comp Arcane and one other of the later Comps says if you lose your prereqs for a Prestige class you lose all class abilities. Both basically quote the 3.0 DMG.

The DMG (the primary source) makes no such limitation. Neither do most of the followup books.

This basically leaves you 3 choices. In the order from most reasonable to least reasonable IMHO.
1) The DMG is the primary source and only requires you to have the prereqs for taking the 1st level of the prestige class (It is very precise and emphatic on this point, repeating the point twice). The Comp Arcane and other are typos caused by careless cut/pastes.

2) Prestige classes from books that say you must have the prereqs to keep prestige class abilities apply that rule. All other prestige classes don't.

3) Assume the DMG and most of the books are wrong, and that they didn't bother to mention in the errata, and assume the couple of books that say you must always have the prereqs to advance in a prestige class and keep the class abilities.

So basically by DMG, unless there is Psychic Reformation errata or FAQ, you can indeed shed feats that you used to enter a prestige class and continue to gain all the benefits of the class. There is a reason that this ability is the poster child for people who think Psionics is broken. All those prestige classes that are balanced by having weak feat prereqs become a joke. It's also the dream tool of optimisers. This is because optimisers usually have a level at which the optimisation really kicks in. The lower the optimisation kick in, the weaker you tend to be later. With this you can optimise your PC for 1st-6th level, and then at 7th have your friendly Psion "reform" you to the optimisation for 7th-12th, and then re-optimise yourself at 13th level.

<Sarcasm warning>
Of course it does have a horrendus xp cost. For every level you wish to "reform", + any levels you skip counting back from the highest, you have to pay 50xp split between caster and target. So completely remaking everything but the actual class choices (well it doesn't say you can't change those, but it doesn't specifically give you permission to do it) for 6 levels will cost the awesome cost of 300xp. Surely that'll discourage the abuse of this power......

Stephen