Complete Psionic: the good parts

[Alex12]

Most people with interest in psionics know that the Complete Psionic in general is garbage, to be mild. However, skimming it, I saw a few things I liked (especially the Synad race)
So, what parts of Complete Psionic don't suck?

[Fax Celestis]

The Ardent, the Lurk, the Synads, and some of the powers. Really, that's about it.

[martyboy74]

What about the Soulbow? They only suck because they're based off the soulknife, right?

[Quellian-dyrae]

To be honest, I've never understood why people don't like Complete Psionics. It strikes me as not much different from any other supplement. Some things are completely useless, others are interesting though not necessarily optimal build choices, a few are quite respectably powerful, and there are a couple broken bits. But aside from the really rather horrendously written metapower feat and the unnecessary nerf to Astral Construct, nothing in there has ever struck me as particularly terrible.

[Fax Celestis]

To be honest, I've never understood why people don't like Complete Psionics. It strikes me as not much different from any other supplement. Some things are completely useless, others are interesting though not necessarily optimal build choices, a few are quite respectably powerful, and there are a couple broken bits. But aside from the really rather horrendously written metapower feat and the unnecessary nerf to Astral Construct, nothing in there has ever struck me as particularly terrible.

It's mostly due to the whole "psionics from outside yourself" thing that present in the Divine Mind, and the PrCs (excluding the Zerth Cenobite) are uninspiring.

[SilverClawShift]

Yeah. Psionics and positive/negative energy just don't freaking mix. Talk about missing the point. Then illithid heritage feats. WHAT? HUH? REPEAT THAT? yeah, no, for crying out loud. If your character is part mindflayer, it's because the mindflayers bolted tentacles on your face to see if it would kill you or not, you don't have a mindflayer 'heritage'.
And then a list of feats that turn your mindblade into exotic weapons? Why not just have a feat that lets you turn your mindblade into a specific non-ranged non-spiked-chain exotic weapon? Wouldn't that be a lot simpler and better for the player?

Whoops, this was supposed to be about the good stuff

The soulbow is cool, but it should really be a base class. Not cause there aren't enough of them, but because your characters main thematic ability (psionic ranged combat) should exist from the beginning in some capacity, and you can't even throw a mindblade until level 2. And then you need a prestige class to really do it well.
It works best if you're starting at a higher level, so you can actually do what you build the character to do.

[Alex12]

Yeah. Psionics and positive/negative energy just don't freaking mix. Talk about missing the point.

The way I see it is that psionics and positive/negative energy can mix, but not in the "I channel a god's will" or anything like that. Positive/negative energy are forms of energy that have their own planes. Manipulating negative energy != evil, since it's almost identical to the other things psions do. I mean, there's really no way to use Energy Ray that isn't just as bad as, say, Stygian Ray.

Then illithid heritage feats. WHAT? HUH? REPEAT THAT? yeah, no, for crying out loud. If your character is part mindflayer, it's because the mindflayers bolted tentacles on your face to see if it would kill you or not, you don't have a mindflayer 'heritage'.

One explanation I heard for that is that since Mind Flayers are actually from the future, "Illithid Heritage" feats actually mean that you're the evolutionary chain to the Illithid race. Yeah. Illithids are so badass that they give their own ancestors magic powers!

The soulbow is cool, but it should really be a base class. Not cause there aren't enough of them, but because your characters main thematic ability (psionic ranged combat) should exist from the beginning in some capacity, and you can't even throw a mindblade until level 2. And then you need a prestige class to really do it well.

I say if you want to be good at ranged combat and have psionic powers be a kineticist. That way, instead of throwing a mind blade at someone, you can shoot them with lasers.

[Temp]

Just the Astral Construct restrictions are enough for my group not to want that book at the game table. The power wasn't even especially overwhelming in the first place.

One explanation I heard for that is that since Mind Flayers are actually from the future, "Illithid Heritage" feats actually mean that you're the evolutionary chain to the Illithid race. Yeah. Illithids are so badass that they give their own ancestors magic powers!

So all the playable races are supposed to eventually evolve into brain-eating slugs? I'm so confused...

[Armads]

Just the Astral Construct restrictions are enough for my group not to want that book at the game table. The power wasn't even especially overwhelming in the first place.

Astral Construct used to be a wonderful power. With it, a level 11 wilder can start throwing out AC 41, permanently invisible, flying 9th level astral constructs (Wild Surge, Circlet of Wild Surging, Earth Power).

The Soulbow's awesome, and Damp Power simply rocks.

[Alex12]

So all the playable races are supposed to eventually evolve into brain-eating slugs? I'm so confused...

I think it was just supposed to be a few, or a small subpopulation or something, because they still needed to eat brains and they still needed to reproduce. Something like that. Anyway, that theory makes at least as much sense as having an Illithid ancestor, if not more.

[Temp]

I'm not saying an Illithid ancestor would make any more sense for a person growing tentacles, but this really baffles me.

So every race--humans, dwarves, elves, whatever else can take the Illithid Heritage feat--is supposed to eventually cross-breed and form a single species of brain-eating parasites?

I call shenanigans.

[Alex12]

I'm not saying an Illithid ancestor would make any more sense for a person growing tentacles, but this really baffles me.

So every race--humans, dwarves, elves, whatever else can take the Illithid Heritage feat--is supposed to eventually cross-breed and form a single species of brain-eating parasites?

I call shenanigans.

Half-elves. Half-orcs. Half-Giants. It's already happening. Besides, is it really more likely that at some point in the distant past, Illithids, who spawn larvae and presumeably don't have sex in anything like the way that humanoid races do, actually reproduced with a humanoid race (whom they consider to be inferior beings, btw) and didn't eat his/her brains? I find that even more unlikely

[Fax Celestis]

No, just humans.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Two-word explanation for the Illithid Heritage feats: Hentacle fetish.

[Alex12]

Two-word explanation for the Illithid Heritage feats: Hentacle fetish.

Pentacle Rex. (if anyone catches the reference, they get a cookie)

[nobodylovesyou4]

im partial to the racial classes, i thought those were pretty cool. makes some of them decent!

[Telok]

Good: Explody head power, soulbow, some racial feats (personal preference for Xeph here).

Bad: Divine mind, Astral Construct junk stuff, Illithid sillyness.

These are just my personal opinions mind you. I'm also horribly unimpressed with the artwork. I haven't seen anything quite as bad since the second version of the AD&D PH. Although it's still a definite cut above that disgusting thing.

[Fax Celestis]

Pentacle Rex. (if anyone catches the reference, they get a cookie)

Schlock Mercenary. I want my cookie.

[ImperiousLeader]

The good:

- The Lurk: nice class, but it kinda needs trapfinding.
- Zerth Cenobite: Flavourful, and kinda cool.
- Link Power: Nice feat, especially for Psi-gishes.
- Synads: Yeah, cool race.

Those are the main things I pull from the book. I'll hunt through the powers on occassion, there's a few neat ones.

[Karma Guard]

It's mostly due to the whole "psionics from outside yourself" thing that present in the Divine Mind, and the PrCs (excluding the Zerth Cenobite) are uninspiring.

Any PrC who can punch you hard enough to knock you out of the time-space continuum is a-ok in my book.

The rest of the book is pretty dull. Nothing really stands out from it.

Edit: Also, the Githyanki Charm feat is just odd. Daze -> Charm Person? That doesn't seem to work.

[Alex12]

Schlock Mercenary. I want my cookie.

http://photo.bldesign.org/photos/misc/cookie.jpg

Bravo!

[Fixer]

Astral Construct used to be a wonderful power. With it, a level 11 wilder can start throwing out AC 41, permanently invisible, flying 9th level astral constructs (Wild Surge, Circlet of Wild Surging, Earth Power).

Ok, how the heck do you come up with this? Let me try to figure this out.

11th level manifester.
Wild Surge (+4 manifester levels, PP cost free)
Circlet of Wild Surging (+1 manifester level)
Earth Power (Power Point Cost reduced by one when standing on Earth)

To get an AC41, permanently invisible flying 9th level astral construct you have to do the following:
Natural Invisibility (Group C)
Improved Fly (Group B)
Extreme Deflection (Group C)
....right here, unless you also have Boost Construct, you can't do it. But, if you are manifesting Astral Constructs you PROBABLY have the feat, so you can even take Rend or Whirlwind Attack (Both Group B), depending on opponents.

To summon this bad boy you have to spend 17 power points. Earth Power reduces that to 16. You get four free points from Wild Surge, eleven from your normal manifester levels and one from the Circlet giving you 16 points. Ok, it is do-able.

Side Effects / Restrictions:

1. Chance of Psychic Enervation (being dazed 1 round and losing another 11 power points) is 25%.
2. You have focused your feats almost entirely at this level. In order to pull this off you have to have: Earth Sense, Earth Power, Boost Construct, and Expanded Knowledge (for Astral Construct). These feats also require you to have a Con 13 and Wis 13 in addition to a 19 Charisma just to manifest that power at that level and only leave you with one 'free' feat at that level.
3. Access to that particular magical item. Easy or hard, depending on GM.

So you are spending 12 power points, a 25% chance of risking 11 more power points, for a creature that will last for 16 rounds. Not a bad investment, I suppose.

[Raolin_Fenix]

I like the Elan feats.

Not like Elans aren't already broken enough. But hey, take Enhanced Elan Resilience. For one feat and I can negate four damage for every one PP I spend, instead of only 2 damage. Similarly, Enhanced Elan Resistance isn't bad (though it's not as good either), and even Elan Retainment is okay (though I'd personally pass it up).

Enhanced Elan Repletion is sort of pointless. :P But the point is, there are a couple decent feats in there. And powerwise, Zone of Alertness is okay, Telekinetic Buffer isn't bad, Urge Extermination is a fair investment (Power Word: Kill only potentially better, albeit at a pretty unpleasant cost), and Stygian Touch is pretty freakin' nice for Psionic Warriors or people who take Expanded Knowledge.