4EHater's page

4EHater wrote:

Is the Maenad article about the psionic race? I hope so.

Yes, it is! And rather a good interpretation, I think.

Daigle, by all means list out your furry little friends. I think you chose a really interesting group.

Awesome, thanks for doing a psionic race! I would love to see more psionic material, considering the huge lack thereof. It is OGL ;)

Ok, now I have a question.

Is the Maenad article about the psionic race? I hope so.

Three comments...

1) I don't allow psionics in my games. Period. That is because...

2) I find psionics to fit well in a sci-fi game, but not a fantasy game. They simply don't fit in the same system with wizards and rangers. Unless...

3) Psionics replace magic. The series by David Eddings has a concept called 'the will and the word'. If you remove arcane spell casters and instead replace them with psionic characters - you can draw a much greater distinction with divine casters and create an unusual fantasy flavor.

So I never use a psionic system and have never bought a psionic book.

The idea that psionics only belongs in a sci-fi setting is somewhat absurd. Just because sci-fi elements have made heavy use of it doesn't mean it only belongs there.

Case in point, the Final Fantasy games (and even non-FF games like Lost Odyssey and several others) have been pushing for higher and higher technological levels, sometimes mixed with magic. This is becoming the norm in today's generation. Would it be right to say that super cannons, flying saucers, high-tech weaponry, and cyborgs should fit in a medieval fantasy game?

I would definitely say put more zing into Craft and Profession skills. Thanks to the DMG2, my players put ranks in Profession for the intriguing purpose of running a business. They get a business partner and continue adventuring. It's also a good place for a PC to head back to to stock up on the profit he earned and continue his adventuring.

The only reason people don't take Craft unless its combat-related (weaponsmithing, armorsmithing, trapmaking, poisonmaking), and specifically no Profession skills, is because neither appears to do much for a PC because the mechanics and details aren't there. That's what makes it boring and non-adventuring related. Simply jazz them up. Add great detail to them and even greater detail to common ones such as Profession (herbalist) and Profession (astrologer). State which ones grant synergy bonuses to which skills, that always helps.

Now when that Wizard is busy writing down new spells, the PCs with Craft or Profession have something interesting to do in the meantime.

You still suffer arcane spell failure, armor check penalties, and nonproficiency penalty when using an animated shield.

Besides, nothing scares a PC more than a mighty creature with Improved Sunder. ;) Just force them to put it away or risk losing it entirely.

I never thought Combat Expertise had any problems. I think people who take it don't truly realize the potential behind it. I've had many players choose the feat for the extra AC, because their attack bonus was still high enough to hit the creature they were targeting. It also perpetuates strategy among the players, it gets them thinking whether to go all out defensive, halfway, or a little bit like one or 2 points. I even had one take Improved Combat Expertise and he does a great job being the bait by maxing his AC bonus out while the others hack away at the enemy. He prides on never being hit (but, the wonderful balance is, he rarely hits also).

I say leave it the way it was originally. Why change it?

I love the concept and idea behind playing past 20th level. My players and I believe that, yes, the original ELH had the right idea of building on abilities from previous levels and making them powerful or unstoppable. But they didn't go much farther than that and didn't really do anything more unique.

When 3.5E came out we hoped for an ELH Redux, but of course WotC never provided it. I am hoping Pathfinder can make the ELH similar to the original but with better mechanics and better choices.

I'm just going to assume that what I have to say has already been said, purely based on the size of this thread. Reading through a bit of what has already been posted there are a lot of ideas I really like. The main thought of, "Psionics shouldn't be another mage with different flavour text.", is something I really agree with. So while it may be a lot of working completely reworking psionics from the 3.5e material already available it could be in Pathfinder's best interest to introduce Psionics as a form of, but complete seperate from, monk. Where monks are the physical perfection of form, psions could be the metal perfection of form. Less focus on an oriental perspective, but with the same feel and mythos to the class.

Well let's not mess with the rules too much. Remember, Pathfinder is about backwards compatibility, too. If I can't make use of my XPH, Complete Psionic, The Mind's Eye, and 3PP psionics material with little modifications, then purchasing a Pathfinder Psionics book for me is pointless. I want to see new Psionic material for my games using Pathfinder, and not be stuck in the dark once again begging for more psionic material.

I was just about to bring this up about Pathfinder and then I saw this thread.

I would like to say I love psionics. What it means to me is something that is still fantasy in element and yet different, unique, and just awesome. Many players I have had over the 12 years I have been DMing each have at least one psionic character, because they're intrigued by something unique other than playing "just another book-reading wizard". The aspect of making crystals as a theme to psionics makes it more unique than psionics in other settings and media.

I personally like to keep magic and psionics separate, otherwise, why bother adding psionics in? Sure, it creates some extra complications but that doesn't matter if it means a good story.

I personally will definitely purchase a Pathfinder Psionics and I would love to see what it is you guys do with it to benefit my games that use psionics in it beyond what has been published on Expanded Psionics, Complete Psionic, and the Mind's Eye.

I also would like to see more support. The problem with people not using psionics is because of lack of support. If more material were to be released, more people would finally realize psionics may not be so bad after all.