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So I'm currently in a Serpent's Skull campaign, and we're planning on doing Skull and Shackles next, I'll be in both as a player, but the GM will be different for the two campaigns. As the groups de facto board-searcher, i have a few questions to throw out at you all.
First, my group is of 5 of us, including the GM, and two of the players seem really into psionics, one for the versatility while still keeping full progression of the psion, lets call him Tony, and the other guy likes the new expanded psionics classes like vitalist and aegis, call him Luke. I'm kind of on the fence regarding psionics, I dabbled a bit in it in 3.5, but haven't touched it in PF as there are so many other cool things i can play. The other two guys in the group don't care for psionics. One just doesn't like the idea it seems, call him Red, and the other one (our current GM) is of the opinion that Psions are overpowered, having played one himself in our last campaign, and now GMing our party with a psion in it, call him Fred. So Fred, our current GM is grumbly about it, but seems to be letting it go for now, and the GM for Skull and Shackles will be Red, the other fellow who doesn't seem to like them for flavourful reasons, and maybe a bit of a imbalance perception. We have thought out our party for the beginning of Skull and Shackles, and Luke wants to play an Aegis, but Red isn't sure about it. So I'm talking to Fred and Red the other day, and Fred mentions also how he doesn't like how DSP has incorporated psionics into Golarion, and how his life would be easier if we just stuck to the Paizo material, as it would make his world nicer, and he would not have to worry about balance between 3rd Party material and Paizo stuff. The discussion eventually ran to the idea that instead of the GMs just decreeing that psionics does not exist in the world, we should put it to a vote. Now here's the part where I need your advice, oh wise internet. It would surely fall to me to break a 2-2 tie if we voted on this, and from the GM's point of view i can see why they don't like it for non-canon reasons and the psion's ability to stack up power points into more high level spells than a wizard could dream of, but I'm concerned that we'll be alienating two of the group. I think Tony would be a bit upset, as he said he'd never play an arcane caster again as long as psion is available, and he has played a few, but i think he'd just say poo on arcane casting and play divine or martial characters. But Luke really likes psionics conceptually, and I think he'd be a bit put out.
Again, I have no real desire to play any psionic class, but should I agree with the GMs and say we're playing Pathfiner, lets keep it Paizo-only, and not have to worry about 3pp balance issues, as well as the idea that if we let in psionics we'll slowly end up adding more 3pp material, some of which is silly how unbalanced it is, or should I say let the players play what they want to? any reasonable advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
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http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/18833134/Myth:_The_XPH_is _overpowered
It's a outdated (and a new, updated version of this will be made in the near future by the wonderful people at Dreamscarred Press), but a lot of the concepts still ring true for what's in the Pathfinder-version of the Psionics content. The biggest difference is that the rules were very much reworked and I've heard the opposite, that Psionics is actually really well balanced for people who actually know how to use it.
In addition, if your friend Luke is really interested in the Aegis class, I do recommend him look at the Soulknife class and the Metaforge Prestige class.
I should have clarified I think. I don't need convincing about the power levels of psionics, and I doubt that an argument for "they are balanced" would sway the people who don't like it, as it's partially an issue of flavour and of it being 3rd party. Fred said to me the other day that he would not mind if Paizo had done the psionics because then it would have been balanced in house. Also, no argument showing how crazy you could make a psion or any other psionic class is going to sway the guys who like it.
The issue here is i need advice on what I should try to do with my friends in the group. Do I side with the guys who dont like it, keep things Paizo, and tick off the psionics fans, or say we let them have their fun, and keep the GMs annoyed. That is the question.
@mavbor: yeah this is what I was thinking. 1-keeping GMs happy is good. 2-If we set in a hard and fast paizo only rule it eliminates all ambiguity in further issues with 3rd party stuff.
@TriOmegaZero: Has DSP or anyone else published a full adventure path for psionics?
If it's flavor reasons, just let it be known that psionics does exist in Golarion, even if it's all the way in Vudra. People travel. If it's balance reasons, just give Harrison's link a look. If it's the third party hordes you fear, just know that DSP is one of the best third parties there is, and they put out really balanced stuff rooted in balanced 3.5 stuff, so they aren't just any old piddly third party publisher. The GM always gets to make the final call, but if there was only one third party I would allow, it would be them, without a doubt.
I believe one is in the works.
Edit: From The Deep.
Good Find. Maybe i'll propose that we keep it pazio for their modules and then the psionics fans can get their fix by us playing these modules in an all psionics world
There is one thing I explicitly disallow in my games currently: gnomes, and only because I cannot stand the stupidity that comes along with [my group] trying to role-play their wackiness in the middle of an otherwise serious campaign. Anything else, I work in as best I can. I disallowed arcane casters once for a specific campaign and will never do it again.
My point: I have learned that balance is an illusion that I, as DM, can manipulate by making each character feel important in some way. I have also learned that the game is not all about me and the world I want to present, it's a social game and I have to consider the desires of others. Just because I have a personal dislike of a concept does not make it okay for me to take that fun away from someone else.
Unless they are trying too hard to be comic relief. That is my one shameless prejudice.