The latest installment of the Age of Worms adventure features Zyrxog, a Mind Flayer sorcerer(7). Am I the only one who finds this rather lame? I know, I know, people hate psionics. Whatever. I would have apreceated at least a sidebar writeup with a psion as the chosen class.
The adventure is great and I have no real complaints otherwise. I just had to say something as the exclusion of psionics will always be a pet peeve of mine.
Creative Director
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Simply put, there wasn't enough room in the magazine to make Zyrxog a 7th level psion, since we would have to not only reprint all the rules for psions and how psionics work, but would have to include full descriptions of all Zyrxog's psionic powers. We can only assume a reader has access to the 3 core rule books. This is the primary reason you don't see psionics that often in the magazine. Even something as simple as an alternate statblock that presents him as a psion would have eaten up a column of text. That isn't a sacrifice I was willing to make at the time, and it's not one I'll make in the future.
That said, we do intend to run adventures now and then that make use of psionics. Of course... before we can run a psionic adventure, we have to have a good psionic adventure submitted to us. They're few and far between.
That said, we do intend to run adventures now and then that make use of psionics. Of course... before we can run a psionic adventure, we have to have a good psionic adventure submitted to us. They're few and far between.
CHALLENGE!
::Leaping forth with fist aloft::
Well... (ahem)... I'm not gonna write it.
::Slinking back into line::
I love psionics.
James, thanks for explaining why Zyrxog wasn't statted as a 7th level Psion. I understand.
Since Paizo has been doing Web Supplements for each issue, is there any chance of seeing a Psion version of Zyrxog in the Web Supplement for issue 127? Since it would be part of the enhancement you wouldn't need to include the sidebar of how psionics work or descriptions of each of his powers. Just a stat block and power list would be great for those of us with the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Thanks for listening.
Excellent idea!
Or even if that doesn't happen, one of us fans should convert him and post the stats here on the message board.
Or . . . fan-created conversion and WE aside . . . if/when a AWAP book comes out similiar to the existing SCAP book . . . maybe we'll see the stats there.
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Creative Director
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There won't be a psion version of him in the web enhancement, and if we do an Age of Worms hardcover, there won't be a psion version of him there either. I hate to sound like the voice of "ANTI-PSIONICS" but there it is.
In order for an adventure to feature psionics, the adventure has to be about psionics. Just throwing one or two psionic characters into a campaign intended to support (primarilly) the core books puts an awkward emphasis on the character. Or barring that, there needs to be a REALLY GOOD in-story reason for a psionic creature to be in the adventure. By the same extension, you won't see ninjas or priests of Osiris or cyborgs showing up in most Dungeon adventures. Their rules requrie too much room to reprint, and their flavor simply doesn't work when the adventure's not about their flavor.
I'd love to see a psion version of Zyrxog posted to the boards though, for those DMs who want to go down that road.
And I'd also love to see some more psionic adventures get submitted.
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There won't be a psion version of him in the web enhancement, and if we do an Age of Worms hardcover, there won't be a psion version of him there either. I hate to sound like the voice of "ANTI-PSIONICS" but there it is.
Amen brother! Leave the psionic crap for Hiero Desteen and his book series
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345308417/qid=1127355284/sr= 1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1735766-2606216?v=glance&s=books
They make great reads but psions like him are really lame in a world based on magic....too much like a science feel
I would love to see a fan rewrite of Zyrxog as a Psion as well. Anyone up to the task?
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I would love to see a fan rewrite of Zyrxog as a Psion as well. Anyone up to the task?
In an effort to render a psionic version of Zyrxog, which class do you guys recommend from the Expanded Psionics Handbook? And, how many levels of said class to make him the proper Challenge Rating?
I am thinking just Psion. But, I guess we can try different psionic classes.
Don Kenneth Brown
Salt Lake City, Utah
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I tried to post my initial conversion earlier, but I got signed out as I posted it, but I realized that if you are using the psionic mind flayer of Expanded Psionics, just give him three levels of psion, otherwise you are looking at a TPK. Three levels of psion makes him the equivalent of a 12th level psion (telepath) which grants him a whopping 168 power points, which means he can spend his maximum number of points for 14 rounds straight and his mind blast uses no power points at all. With the right power selection and good tactics on the DM's part, you might be looking a TPK anyway, especially if your players aren't being smart in the fight
-Malkari
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Creative Director
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Psion is an associated class for a psionic mind flayer. To make a CR 11 Zyrxog psion, you need only make him a 3rd level psion. These levels will indeed stack with his existing "phantom" psion levels, giving him the abilities of a 12th-level psion.
One thing to keep in mind though; the way psionics work means that NPCs are MUCH more effective psions than PCs, since usually there's no reason for an NPC to conserve his resources.
Which brings me to one of my concerns about mixing psionics with regular D&D. To use a semi-goofy analogy... think of all character classes as being a big tank of water. The water in the tank represents their abilities and potential havoc. The core classes have a garden hose they can use to empty that tank; the water that comes out (aka the resources and havoc they expend/create) is fairly constant. Psionic characters can burn their resources faster; they have a firehose. They still have the same amount of water in their tank, but when they turn that firehose on full blast, they can do a LOT more damage in an encounter than an equal level cleric or wizard or even fighter. The theory that this is balanced because the psion will run out of his resources sooner than any other class is suspect, especailly when a group rests often enough that the psion never has to worry about being out of points. For an NPC, this worry is nonexistant unless you, as DM, hold back on the firehose.
In an all psionics campaign, this isn't as much of a problem, because everyone's got a firehose. But giving a firehose to one or two characters in a campaign that mostly uses garden hoses is a recipie for trouble. I've seen it happen twice so far. it ain't pretty.
Very insightful and well-put, James.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who would have liked to see real psionics used.
I understand where you're coming from James and I can't really blame you for your editorial decisions. That said, I do think the designers of the rules, and the writers of the 3 core rulebooks specifically, are to blame for the "problems" caused by psionics. It was a big, BIG mistake to exclude psionics from the core rules. Although the current set of rules found in the XPH work and work well there are certain incompatabilities (like the one you describe in your post above) that will always make psionics the red-headded step child of D&D. Tsk, tsk.
Psion is an associated class for a psionic mind flayer. To make a CR 11 Zyrxog psion, you need only make him a 3rd level psion. These levels will indeed stack with his existing "phantom" psion levels, giving him the abilities of a 12th-level psion.
One thing to keep in mind though; the way psionics work means that NPCs are MUCH more effective psions than PCs, since usually there's no reason for an NPC to conserve his resources.
Which brings me to one of my concerns about mixing psionics with regular D&D. To use a semi-goofy analogy... think of all character classes as being a big tank of water. The water in the tank represents their abilities and potential havoc. The core classes have a garden hose they can use to empty that tank; the water that comes out (aka the resources and havoc they expend/create) is fairly constant. Psionic characters can burn their resources faster; they have a firehose. They still have the same amount of water in their tank, but when they turn that firehose on full blast, they can do a LOT more damage in an encounter than an equal level cleric or wizard or even fighter. The theory that this is balanced because the psion will run out of his resources sooner than any other class is suspect, especailly when a group rests often enough that the psion never has to worry about being out of points. For an NPC, this worry is nonexistant unless you, as DM, hold back on the firehose.
In an all psionics campaign, this isn't as much of a problem, because everyone's got a firehose. But giving a firehose to one or two characters in a campaign that mostly uses garden hoses is a recipie for trouble. I've seen it happen twice so far. it ain't pretty.
So... Are you saying I should not let one of my players play a psion/monk (gestalt)? ~seriously~
I'm not James but I think I'm right to say that none of the adventures that appear in Dungeon are designed for gestalt PC's. Your GM would have to make many adjustments, I think, to make such a game balanced. I'm not saying it's impossible, I just don't think the adventures will work as written for such a party. Regardless of whether you use psionics or not.
IMC I have already introduced psionics on a very limited level (through the Twilight Monastery and an "unusual" clan of dwarves). They won't be a major hallmark of the campaign, but my opinion is that psionics deserves at least a minor place in my campaigns.
Anyway, I will be writing up a psionic version of Zyrxog very soon since my PCs are about to start up EaBWK and I like to be prepared. Zyrxog will be a psionic mind flayer and a 3rd-level psion in the interest of preserving his CR rating. I will post his stat block as soon as I am done writing it.
I recommend to any DM using psionics that you use them cautiously. If abused, then you will make life hard on your PCs every time they battle a psion/wilder/psychic warrior. Their ability to augment powers and blow their proverbial load for one spectacularly power combat is not rivaled by the core rules, as James as pointed out. I strongly suggest you come up with an in-character explanation for Zyrxog to use his power points conservatively, at least at the beginning of the encounter. Once he begins to lose control and you conclude he has a realistic expectation of death, he should either use plane shift to retreat or decide he has to deal a critical blow to the PCs by augmenting his powers to their limit, expending psionic focus, etc. But this should only be done if Zyrxog sees no other chance of winning, and probably only once. He becomes a very vulnerable mind-flayer if he runs out of power points.
In an all psionics campaign, this isn't as much of a problem, because everyone's got a firehose. But giving a firehose to one or two characters in a campaign that mostly uses garden hoses is a recipie for trouble. I've seen it happen twice so far. it ain't pretty.
Give the firehose to a wicked DM and psionic mind flayer:
Priceless
So . . . while I'm no expert on Psionics by any means . . . if I were to convert the illathid to psion from sorcerer, it would be in my players best interest to start the encounter with the mindflayer not at full psionic potential? Where he'd already gone through some of his daily allotment of power points?
I mean in essence, it's the difference between a CR and a LA . . . er, not sure if I said that right.
Seeing as you all (or most of you) like psionics, I was wondering if any of you had checked out Green Ronin's The Psychic's.I have the XPH, but was wondering if I should pick it up(see my thread in General D&D Discussion). Thanks.
WaterdhavianFlapjack
I'm not James but I think I'm right to say that none of the adventures that appear in Dungeon are designed for gestalt PC's. Your GM would have to make many adjustments, I think, to make such a game balanced. I'm not saying it's impossible, I just don't think the adventures will work as written for such a party. Regardless of whether you use psionics or not.
Well, I am the GM and in the campaign I have been running for the past year all three players are gestalt.
My previous question was aimed more at the psionic aspect of that character (a player is wanting to play).
As far as the gestalt thing goes, they are not nearly as powerful as some people think. It still blows my mind that there are people out there that think they are overwhleming or are over balanced. At the most, a player ends up with a character that has two good saves (and maybe a good attack bonus) verses the usual one. Unless of course you consider a monk gets all good saves anyway. Further more, the character is still limited to how much it can do at a time, regardless as to how many or which class abilities they have at their disposal.
Sorry to stray off topic.
In my honest opinion I think the Mind Flayer from this issue should have class levels in Psion. Mind Flayers are different and...well "alien" to others in the campaign, so anything psionic is just natural.
...but alas I understand the editorial reasons for not making it so...
A few things I would recomend with this.
#1:...adding 7 levels of Psion to this would make it a 16th level manifester...and death for the PCs. Try not to go overboard with this.
#2: Focus on Telepathy powers. Sure while the Mind Flayer may burn a feat to learn other discipline powers it's not going to go crazy with them. Mind Flayers are (usually) focused individuals.
#3: The PCs are in a city, so if this encounter is slightly more challenging than normal...well...it's ok.
Can't wait to see the Psion version.
I'm not James but I think I'm right to say that none of the adventures that appear in Dungeon are designed for gestalt PC's. Your GM would have to make many adjustments, I think, to make such a game balanced. I'm not saying it's impossible, I just don't think the adventures will work as written for such a party. Regardless of whether you use psionics or not.Well, I am the GM and in the campaign I have been running for the past year all three players are gestalt.
My previous question was aimed more at the psionic aspect of that character (a player is wanting to play).
As far as the gestalt thing goes, they are not nearly as powerful as some people think. It still blows my mind that there are people out there that think they are overwhleming or are over balanced. At the most, a player ends up with a character that has two good saves (and maybe a good attack bonus) verses the usual one. Unless of course you consider a monk gets all good saves anyway. Further more, the character is still limited to how much it can do at a time, regardless as to how many or which class abilities they have at their disposal.
Sorry to stray off topic.
How did you adjust your campaign?
WaterdhavianFlapjack
According to the Monster Manual, sorcerer is an associated class with the Mind Flayer. The example Mind Flayer Sorcerer 9 that they give in the mind flayer statistics block has a CR or 17 (8 for the mind flayer plus 9 for the sorcerer levels). By that calculation alone, Zyrxog should be a CR 15 encounter by himself. Add in the increased Charisma score (5 points higher Charisma than the standard mind flayers, which increases the DCs of all his powers and spell-like abilities) and the encounter becomes even tougher.
Realistically, there's not many 8th level characters who are going to be able to make a DC 23 Will save, thus, they're going to be stunned everytime Zyrxog uses his mind blast ability, which he can do at will. The classes that have a base save bonus of +6 to Will saves at 8th level, assuming that they have +4 points of additional bonuses to their Will saves, have less than a 50% chance of making that save. Classes like fighter, ranger, barbarian and rogue are going to fail their saves against Zyrxog's mind blast unless they are incredibly lucky.
Add into that the other spell-like abilities which he can use at will (such as Charm Monster, with a DC 0f 20 and Suggestion, with a DC of 19) and Zyrxog is going to totally cream most 8th level parties.
My suggestion, if you want to use a psionic mind flayer, is this: use the psionic mind flayer from Expanded Psionics Handbook as he is written, which makes Zyrxog a CR 8 creature. Since he is determined to destroy the PCs in this encounter rather than use his powers to run away (thus expending all his resources, ie, power points) increase the EL of the encounter to a 12.
At least that way, an average 8th level party has a chance of surviving this encounter.
Rhen
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Creative Director
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According to the Monster Manual, sorcerer is an associated class with the Mind Flayer.
The mind flayer sorcerer from the Monster Manual entry has the wrong CR. Zyrxog is a CR 8 creature with a bunch of non-associated class levels; sorcerer adds less to a mind flayer's threat on a level-per-level basis than fighter levels do. As for his high DC mind blast... I agree that a DC 23 Will save is really tough for 8th level characters. That said... keep in mind that mind blast isn't unstoppable. It's a spell-like ability the equivalent of a 4th-level spell; there are many ways a smart party can capitalize on this. My favorite method to stop mind blasts is spell immunity; get one of them plus a fly spell on the party's toughest fighter or barbarian and Zyrxog is gonna go down fast.
He's a tough encounter, sure, but he's certainly not a CR 15 monster.
...He's a tough encounter, sure, but he's certainly not a CR 15 monster.
Nothing against you, James, but for all of the Dungeon adventures I have run so far (okay, it's only 2, but heh, I'm new. [to Dungeon, that is] :))have had at least one encounter, sometimes more, that was almost a TPK. For example, in Seekers of the Silver Forge, my party of a cleric, pyromaniac sorcerer, harrier (from IH) and dagger throwing rogue almost completly died against the four stone golems. I know they were an appropriate CR, but they still were basically unstoppable. I know there supposed to be challanging, but I sometimes think that are a little two challenging. You can just disregard this whole post, because really, I can adjust the adventures to my campaign. Sorry for the rant. :)
WaterdhavianFlapjack
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Creative Director
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Nothing against you, James, but for all of the Dungeon adventures I have run so far (okay, it's only 2, but heh, I'm new. [to Dungeon, that is] :))have had at least one encounter, sometimes more, that was almost a TPK. For example, in Seekers of the Silver Forge, my party of a cleric, pyromaniac sorcerer, harrier (from IH) and dagger throwing rogue almost completly died against the four stone golems. I know they were an appropriate CR, but they still were basically unstoppable. I know there supposed to be challanging, but I sometimes think that are a little two challenging. You can just disregard this whole post, because really, I can adjust the adventures to my campaign. Sorry for the rant. :)
No problem! Rants are what messageborads are for! :-)
Your example from "Seekers of the Silver Forge" is a good example of how the CR system isn't perfect. It assumes that the PCs are adequately equipped and have the right mix of classes to take on an encounter. Some monsters, like golems and undead, can "shut down" entire categories of classes or items, and if your party isn't ready to deal with them things can turn bad real quick.
The golem encounter's rough, but in that case the fact that the golems were underwater should help a little bit, since it imposes a –2 penalty on the golems' attack rolls and reduces the damage they do by half. Still, a party that relies havilly on magic and sneak attacks (which is what it sounds like your party in question relied on) is always going to have trouble with golems.
In that case, the best thing to do is do exactly what you say: adjust the encounter and customize it for your own campaign.
There will always be tough encounters in Dungeon adventures, mostly because it's the tough encounters that are remembered and make for great edge-of-the-seat game sessions. The more games one runs, the better one gets at spotting encounters that'll give your particular players trouble, so in time you should be able to anticipate these and adjust them as neccessary.
No problem! Rants are what messageborads are for! :-)
Your example from "Seekers of the Silver Forge" is a good example of how the CR system isn't perfect. It assumes that the PCs are adequately equipped and have the right mix of classes to take on an encounter. Some monsters, like golems and undead, can "shut down" entire categories of classes or items, and if your party isn't ready to deal with them things can turn bad real quick.
The golem encounter's rough, but in that case the fact that the golems were underwater should help a little bit, since it imposes a –2 penalty on the golems' attack rolls and reduces the damage they do by half. Still, a party that relies havilly on magic and sneak attacks (which is what it sounds like your party in question relied on) is always going to have trouble with golems.
In that case, the best thing to do is do exactly what you say: adjust the encounter and customize it for your own campaign.
There will always be tough encounters in Dungeon adventures, mostly because it's the tough encounters that are remembered and make for great edge-of-the-seat game sessions. The more games one runs, the better one gets at spotting encounters that'll give your particular players trouble, so in time you should be able to anticipate these...
You're right. Thanks for your open-mindness and good attitude. I'll just keep on tailoring individual adventures for my campaign. Keep up the great work on the mag!
WaterdhavianFlapjack
Anyway, I will be writing up a psionic version of Zyrxog very soon since my PCs are about to start up EaBWK and I like to be prepared. Zyrxog will be a psionic mind flayer and a 3rd-level psion in the interest of preserving his CR rating. I will post his stat block as soon as I am done writing it.
I just want to get something straight. I'm using PCGen to build a psion mindflayer, and after giving the psionic mindflayer three levels of psion and working out the rest of the npc I ended up with a total Effective Character Level of 18!! At least that's what PCGen gives me. Now I posted on PCGen's forum and someone wrote back saying that a mindflayer has a LA of +7, it's an 8 HD monster, plus three leves of psion and there you go, ECL 18. That doesn't sound right to me. Isn't the LA of +7 taking the 8 HD into account? Shouldn't the ECL be equal to whatever character levels you give the monster plus it's LA, so in this case LA +7 with 3 levels of psion equals ECL 10. Now I know that ECL does not translate into CR, or EL for that matter. I love d20, but sometimes it's a little complicated. Also, these phantom levels of psion that the mindflayers has, how many levels does it have? How would I know how many levels it would have by looking at the stat block in the book (in case I want to do this in the future with a different monster)? This seems to be a little bit confusing? Anyone know how to explain this in simple terms? Thanks.
Behold, the mighty psionic Zyrxyg, in all his glory. I stayed as true as I possibly could to the original concept.
Zyrxog, male psionic mind flayer telepath 3: CR 11; Medium aberration (psionic); HD 8d8+16 plus 3d4+6; hp 76; Init +8; Spd 30 ft.; AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13; Base Atk +7; Grp +7; Atk +11 melee (1d4, tentacle); Full Atk +11/+11/+11/+11 melee (1d4, 4 tentacles); SA extract, improved grab, mind blast (DC 22); SQ darkvision 60 ft., power resistance 28, telepathy 100 ft.; AL LE; SV Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +15; Str 10, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 19, Wis 19, Cha 21.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +16, Concentration +15, Hide +12, Knowledge (psionics) +15, Listen +12, Move Silently +17, Psicraft +15, Sense Motive +8, Spot +12, Use Psionic Device +9; Combat Manifestation, Craft Universal Item, Improved Initiative, Improved Toughness, Weapon Finesse.
Languages: Common, Drow, Dwarf, Elven, Undercommon.
Powers Known (power points 150): 1st—defensive precognition, detect psionics, energy ray, mind thrust (DC 16*), psionic charm (DC 16*), vigor; 2nd—body equilibrium, ego whip (DC 17*), id insinuation (DC 17*), psionic levitate, psionic suggestion (DC 17*), read thoughts (DC 17*); 3rd—body adjustment, dispel psionics, energy bolt (DC 17*), mental barrier; 4th—energy adaptation, intellect fortress, psionic dimension door, psionic dominate (DC 19*); 5th—mind probe (DC 20*), psionic plane shift; 6th—mind switch (DC 21*), psionic disintegrate (DC 20).
*Power can be augmented.
Possessions: boots of elvenkind, cloak of resistance +2, ring of counterspells (dispel magic), 2 tattoos of body purification, psionatrix of telepathy, necklace of fireballs type III.
I took a couple of liberties since there are some discrepansies that simply don't work with psionics. Below are design notes, including discrepansies.
- I kept Zyrxog's ability scores exactly the same. Since he is missing an ability boost due to fewer HD, his Charisma score is only a 21.
- It appears Zyrxog was a pretty typical mind flayer until he was given class levels. So rather than use the MM mind flayer as a starting point, I used the EPH as a starting point. This means, among other things, his skills are basically the same, except he has a few ranks in Use Psionic Device. I tried to maintain skill point:hit dice rations.
- I tried to select equivalent powers to compare with Zyrxog's spell list. Not all spells have an elligible psionic equivalent however. lightning bolt = energy bolt, false life = vigor, resist energy = energy adaption, scorching ray = energy ray, shield = mental barrier, detect magic = detect magic = detect psionics.
- Potions of cure serious wounds really aren't as good as body adjustment so I swapped them for tattoos of body purification.
- Since he can't benefit from a lesser rod of empower, he instead gets a psionatrix of telepathy. Very loose analogy but the closest one possible.
- You may wish to swap psionic disintegrate for mass cloud mind or temporal acceleration since those powers preserve the character a bit better. The party could be fighting an 11th-level sorcerer with disintegrate though so the challenge is equivalent.
- I suggest either playing him conservatively (the fools, I think I'll toy with them for a while) or cutting back his power point reserve to 80 (having already use some today) by the time the PCs get to him. If he is fully powered and you unload everything he has on them, he WILL TPK your party. I have no doubt about that.
Tactics: If given time he manifests vigor (augmented to 35 hp) and energy adaptation instead of false life and energy resistance. If given time he manifests defensive precognition (augmented to +4) instead of shield and displacement.
Have fun killing your parties.
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Creative Director
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I just want to get something straight. I'm using PCGen to build a psion mindflayer, and after giving the psionic mindflayer three levels of psion and working out the rest of the npc I ended up with a total Effective Character Level of 18!! At least that's what PCGen gives me. Now I posted on PCGen's forum and someone wrote back saying that a mindflayer has a LA of +7, it's an 8 HD monster, plus three leves of psion and there you go, ECL 18. That doesn't sound right to me. Isn't the LA of +7 taking the 8 HD into account? Shouldn't the ECL be equal to whatever character levels you give the monster plus it's LA, so in this case LA +7 with 3 levels of psion equals ECL 10. Now I know that ECL does not translate into CR, or EL for that matter. I love d20, but sometimes it's a little complicated. Also, these phantom levels of psion that the mindflayers has, how many levels does it have? How would I know how many levels it would have by looking at the stat block in the book (in case I want to do this in the future with a different monster)? This seems to be a little bit confusing? Anyone know how to explain this in simple terms? Thanks.
The folks at PCGen are right. A monster's level adjustment does not account for its hit dice--it accounts for its special abilities, stat bonuses, attacks, defenses, and all that. The "phantom levels" of psion a mind flayer has are given in the Expanded Psioinics Handbook; I don't have one handy, but I seem to remember it was something like 7? In any event, those "phantom levels" are also part of the mind flayer's +7 level adjustment.
In any case... if you're using the mind flayer as an NPC... it's best to just completely ignore ECL and level adjustments. Those measurements only really help when a PC wants to play one of the monsters. A DM shouldn't ever have to worry about anything but CR for one of his monsters.
- You may wish to swap psionic disintegrate for mass cloud mind or temporal acceleration since those powers preserve the character a bit better. The party could be fighting an 11th-level sorcerer with disintegrate though so the challenge is equivalent.
Now, I don't have Expanded Psionics handbook, though it's on my christmas list (will be buying it before running HoHR). But... I thought Psions had a power progression similar to a Sorcerer's spell progression. If I'm wrong, that's cool and I'll quietly go back to my corner, but... if a Mind Flayer has 7 phantom levels of Psion as James mentioned in the above post, and you only add 3 levels of Telepath, wouldn't that only give him access to 5th level powers? I know for a fact an 11th level sorcerer can't cast Disintegrate, so the challenge level is off a bit there anyway as far as comparison goes. Again... don't know Psionics as thoroughly as magic, but that doesn't seem to mesh with what I thought I knew.
VedicCold, you're thinking of the rules in the Psionics Handbook. In the EPH, the Psion was heavily revamped. He gains power progression as a wizard does spell progression, that is, he gains access to level 1 powers at 1st, level 2 powers at 3rd, level 3 powers at 5th, etc. The psion is slightly more limited in the number of powers he knows, but once you see how different the psionics system is now, you'll realize that really isn't a detriment.