What are psionic power points useful for?

[thorr-kan]

Psionic powers, obviously.

If you have power points, you have the psionic subtype, so you qualify for:
1. Psionic feats
ETA: 2. Ability to psionically focus.
ETA: 3. Replacement for a Concentration check.

If you have power points and know any maneuvers, the Psychic Renewal feat allows you to spend power points and recover a maneuver.

ETA: Some racial powers can be powered by power points.

ETA: Charging deep crystal weapons.

ETA: Some class features, forex Lurk abilities.

Are they good for anything else?

ETA: NOT Good For: Summoning Power Rangers, in spite of the agitation below by certain agitators.

[Powerdork]

2 power points can be used to charge a deep crystal weapon, adding 2d6 points of damage to a hit.

[loky1109]

One word: Elan

[MaxiDuRaritry]

One word: Elan

"I'm participating!"

Power points are useful for filling up others' reserves of them. They also allow you to gain, retain, and expend psionic focus, so long as you have at least 1 pp. Psionic focus has a ton of uses in and of itself. Pp also allow you to take and utilize [Psionic] feats.

[Saintheart]

Summoning Power Rangers?

Spoiler

Show

Yeah, it's about that time I go to bed.

[thorr-kan]

One word: Elan

Powering racial powers; I had not recalled that. Good point!

[Rebel7284]

2. Ability to psionically focus.

This one is relevant since expanding your psionic focus can be used for several abilities.

When you are psionically focused, you can expend your focus on any single Concentration check you make thereafter. When you expend your focus in this manner, your Concentration check is treated as if you rolled a 15

Concentration checks are especially important to Iron Heart using initiators since many of those maneuvers have you make a concentration check.

I think there was some other ability to repeat a conversation perfectly if you are psionically focused, but google is failing me.

[Harrow]

I think there was some other ability to repeat a conversation perfectly if you are psionically focused, but google is failing me.

I think you may be thinking of the Autohypnosis skill, which can be used to memorize "a long string of numbers, a long passage of verse, or some other particularly difficult piece of information (but you can’t memorize magical writing or similarly exotic scripts). Each successful check allows you to memorize a single page of text (up to 800 words), numbers, diagrams, or sigils (even if you don’t recognize their meaning)."

Don't think it has anything to do with power points, just a skill a few psionic classes (and factotum) get.

[Particle_Man]

I thought it was diamond mind maneuvers that used concentration?

[Rebel7284]

I thought it was diamond mind maneuvers that used concentration?

looks like I failed my autohypnosis check

[Darg]

Some class features require the expenditure of PP like the Lurk.

[pabelfly]

You can also use PP to qualify for a few psionic prestige classes without having been in a psionic class. Warmind, for example.

[mabriss lethe]

There are also a handful of items that you can charge with power points for various effects. MiC had... I think they were called Reach Gauntlets... which let you burn points to increase your reach by 5 ft.

The Power Crystals from Magic of Eberron are... kind of poorly written, but they seem to indicate that a warforged, or someone with the warforged arm graft (it can equip hand components) can just pump the required power points into the crystal from their own reserves and it fires off the power regardless of any other considerations. From the description we can glean the ML of the items (minimum to manifest the power in the first place) but there's no note about the user needing an appropriate ML to activate it. Just some rather vague wording "This power is treated as a normally manifested power with all the attendant effects" This might be DM arbitration territory though. Does the ML of the Item take precedence when generating the properties of the power, or does it use the character's. (Not that it matters too much for 99 percent of psionic characters, but I get the feeling it was included to give minor psionic warforged the opportunity use psiforged body to dip their toes in psionic powers)

[Erik the Green]

Pendant of Joy is a minor item with possible potential from the MIC (page 118). Throat slot (obvs.), 4000 GP, if worn by someone who "has at least 1 power point" it grants the wearer and everyone within 30' a +2 morale bonus to diplomacy. So, useful for mutually beneficial negotiations or peace talks at least, and Wild Talent or somehow gaining the Phrenic template would be enough to make it work. The only catch I can see is that, while the MIC says it takes calm emotions to create, a stickler of a GM might rule that you need to find a psion to craft on it in order to improve the effect (eg. a psion who knows telempathic projection).

EtG

[Telok]

Had an elan wizard build that just dumped all non-bonus feats into psionic body & more power points. It wasn't bad, you coast on wizard power and the elan+extra hp+racial abilities made you more durable than expected. Not a total power game T1 build, just capable of holding up its end of the party & surviving a bit longer than normal.

[martixy]

Ey, I get to plug old shiz of mine:

https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questi.../100573#100573

[ShurikVch]

Psiomancer feat (Dragon #349) allow to prepare an extra spell at the cost of 2x(spell's level)+1 power points

Psychic Weapon Master - extra uses of Psionic Damage CF cost 3 pp

Diamond Dragon PrC (Dragon Magic): Breath Weapon, Channel Dragon Claws, Channel Dragon Wings, and Channel Dragon Tail CFs are all cost some power points