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Hello again, various players! I'm happy to announce the start of the public playtest for Psionics Augmented: Wilder (working title). This supplement expands on options for Wilder while also providing some options for non-Wilders to play with, and will include everything from new feats, new prestige classes, archetypes, variant rules, and even an item or two. I'm very pleased and honored to say that I'll be the author of this particular supplement.
This thread will contain the material that's available for public playtesting as it becomes available, and I'll do my best to answer feedback as fast as I can. That in mind, there are two bits of material currently ready for testing:
- Our new feats, geared toward Wilders and Wilder themes!
- The Surge Adept prestige class, for those Wilders (and maybe, in the future, other classes) who want to bring their Wild Surge to new heights.
Both are live documents and may change in response to feedback without warning. The Surge Adept document may also get another prestige class added to it.
As always, your feedback is utterly invaluable, and deeply appreciated!
- Jade Ripley
Freelancer, Dreamscarred Press
New prestige class, the Volcanic Mind, is up!
The feats look pretty good to me. Looking at the prestige classes now. :)
Okay, I've read them both. I don't particularly like them, but the Volcanic Mind's ability to hurt others when suffering psychic enervation us interesting,
The feats look pretty good to me. Looking at the prestige classes now. :)
Okay, I've read them both. I don't particularly like them, but the Volcanic Mind's ability to hurt others when suffering psychic enervation us interesting,
Can you expand on what makes them unappealing to you?
They just kind of bland, I guess, when I think of them compared to the other Psionic prestige classes. That's something that might change when they're done though.
I think Volcanic Mind isn't bland, it's pretty cool actually!
Surge Adept is just slightly bland, but it's pretty balanced and it gives the player an option that didn't exist beforehand and I can see why players would want to take it.
I like the fact that these are 5 level PrCs.
Most definitely. Almost every single PrC I see from DSP has a place for player characters and does cool things.
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It's kind of the nature of being a 3pp with such a large body of work.
Paizo's goal was to trim down on multiclassing and try to create an environment where playing a single class 1-20 wasn't just possible, but generally the best way to go.
DSP wants their materials to be as accessible as possible, which includes things lie being easily grafted into existing campaigns and onto existing characters, so Prestige Classes are one of the key tools to doing that successfully. They also don't have a full Pathfinder campaign setting like Golarion (yet!!!), so Prestige Classes are also a way to create a window into the world they envision. They're also a way to just do freaking cool things in a flexible format, like taking some soulknife, stirring in some dread or psion, and then going full blown Sith Lord with Dark Tempest (seriously, that's just such a cool PrC).
Wouldn't they both be better as archetypes than PrCs? I thought PfRPG had basically abandoned the idea of the 5-level prestige class, or at least Paizo certainly seems to have done so.
Edit: Or what about converting them into options for a Wilder-centric Mythic path?
Paizo has created quite a few prestige classes themselves. As for the actual length, the reason is two-fold: first, the concepts behind these prestige classes just don't warrant 10 whole levels. All I'd end up doing is stretching them needlessly and diluting the themes. Second, they're intended to be forward-compatible with some upcoming archetypes, and as a result are supposed to be relatively unobtrustive additions to builds that include wild surge and/or psychic enervation.
I am a big fan of both of these archetypes. The Surge Adept in particular is very appealing to me, since the next manifester I want to make is a blaster.
I do not like that Mental Equilibrium is required for the Biokinetic Feedback feat however. Since my favorite surge types do not Inflict Daze, it basically feels like a feat tax. Is there any chance of Mental Equilibrium doing something for all surge types?
Dot.
I do not like that Mental Equilibrium is required for the Biokinetic Feedback feat however. Since my favorite surge types do not Inflict Daze, it basically feels like a feat tax. Is there any chance of Mental Equilibrium doing something for all surge types?Dazed is among the worst conditions out there to result out of enervating, so I could understand why it is specific. But hoping this is open to suggestion, possibly just allow the feat to ignore the initial condition of enervating, but not the HP/PP drain.
Biokinetic Adept- perhaps set it up on a 2+con/day or 3+con/day setting to allow for a more flexible build.
On the whole I like the flavor quite a bit, I've been waiting for some time now for more wilder specific love. thx DSP.
I understand that it is a feat to not get dazed if you are using a surge that causes daze. However to any Wilder that does not use those surges, its basically a dead feat to gain Biokinetic Feedback. I prefer it if every feat I take gives me a benefit. That is why I am asking for a change.
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And now announcing the first two archetypes (more to come): the Surging Muse and the Empty Heart!
Find them here
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Okay, review time (and Jade, Morgan is going to kick my ass if she finds out I'm reviewing your stuff instead of finishing mine when I told her I'd be wrapping up and heading to bed "shortly"):
Enhanced Surging Aura (Su): The area of the surging muse’s surging aura increases by (5 times ¼ the surging muse’s ML) feet. Whenever the surging muse invokes her wild surge, other allies within her surging aura gain an insight bonus to damage rolls equal to her wild surge’s intensity until the end of their next turn.
If the surging muse doesn’t have the Surging Aura feat, she instead gains a 10’ surging aura. Whenever she invokes her wild surge, she chooses an ally (other than herself) within her aura; that ally gains an insight bonus to damage equal to the surging muse’s wild surge intensity until the end of their next turn.
Bite the bullet on this one and just give Surging Aura as an archetype specific bonus feat, it'll free up some space and get rid of that weird mechanic in the second paragraph.
Fix the formula in the first paragraph. "(5 times ¼ the surging muse’s ML)" is weird. Make it 5 feet plus an additional 5 feet for every 4 manifester levels you possess. That's consistent with the expected layout of an ability like that and doesn't look like unnecessary algebra.
This ability replaces surge blast.
The verbage on this is... off. It's a little ugly. I'l try and recommend a way to clean this up a bit later.
This ability replaces elude attack.
An always on dodge bonus for all allies within the affected area that scales up to +5 is really, really strong. Off the top of my head I can't think of a single ability that is this powerful. I had a similar aura on the Daevic at one point, but even that was a deflection bonus (doesn't stack with other deflection bonuses) so it was more of a cash saver, and didn't kick in the higher levels of the game. I'd think about maybe changing the bonus type or reducing the scaling.
At 3rd level, the penalties inflicted by this ability worsen to -2. At 7th level they worsen to -3, then to -4 at 11th level, -5 at 15th level, and -6 at 19th level. The empty heart may not intentionally lower these penalties; the growing nothingness within always draws power into itself at its maximum intensity. These penalties may affect the number of power points that may be spent while manifesting a power (but see feed the void, below).
This ability replaces wild surge.
There's no scope to this ability. It's... fundamentally flawed. It lets the Wilder spam low level abilities to basically mind rape all enemy casters with no save. If I've tucked away an extra focus or two, I'm going to be spamming quickened talents at the start of every round just to jack up the enemy casters and laugh at their pathetic attempts to cast. This one needs a revamp; look at allowing enemies a save, put a minimum level on the powers you can use the ability with, and/or make it like Power Attack, where once the Empty Heart decides to use it it affects all of her powers for the round.
That's all I have time to go over right now, more to come....
So...you may have noticed that I haven't checked in for awhile.
I've had a storm of real life drama. Failed lumbar punctures, moved across the continent, searching for a job, all that manner of thing. To appease your angry wrath, I bring you 2 new powers:
Surge Augmentations: Many of the powers described in this chapter have additional or increased effects if a wild surge is invoked when they are manifested. These effects will be described under ‘Surge Augment’, beneath the ‘Augmentation’ section of the power’s description.
Biokinetic Endurance
Discipline: Psychometabolism
Level: Psion/wilder 3, psychic warrior 3
Display: Visual
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 minute/level
Power Points: 5
You alter your body’s rhythms, defending yourself against crippling attacks and turning your skin (as well as fur, feathers, or scales) a pale gray color. Whenever damage would be dealt to one of your physical ability scores by a source other than you, reduce that damage by 2 points, to a minimum of 0.
Augment: For every 2 additional power points you spend, the ability damage reduced by this power increases by 1 point.
Surge Augment: If you invoke your wild surge while manifesting this power, choose one of the following augmentations:
1. The power’s range changes to close (25 ft. plus 5 ft. per 2 class levels) and its target changes to ‘one creature’.
2. You gain DR X/-, where X is equal to your wild surge’s intensity.
Melpomene’s Psionic Howl
Discipline: Psychokinesis
Level: Psion/Wilder 2
Display: Auditory
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 30 ft.
Area: 30 ft. radius burst centered on you
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude half
Power Points: 3
You unleash a blast of charged sonic energy that manifests as a howling shriek. Creatures and objects within the area suffer 3d4 points of sonic damage, and hostile creatures that fail their saves become deafened for 1 round per manifester level as the sound persists in their minds, drowning out all others.
Augment: You may augment this power in one or both of the following ways:
1. For every additional power point you spend, this power’s damage increases by one die (d4). For each extra 2 dice of damage, this power’s save DC increases by 1.
2. If you spend an additional 4 power points, you may exclude any number of allies or objects from the power’s effects.
Surge Augment: If you invoke your wild surge while manifesting this power, double its range and area.
If I'm being perfectly honest, these are the first two powers I've ever designed. Feedback much appreciated.
on the howl power, you should include allies in the deafened effect(not just hostile)...if you're offering an augment to exempt them.
on the howl power, you should include allies in the deafened effect(not just hostile)...if you're offering an augment to exempt them.
That's actually mostly to exempt them from the damage, make the power more crowd-safe.
on the howl power, you should include allies in the deafened effect(not just hostile)...if you're offering an augment to exempt them.That's actually mostly to exempt them from the damage, make the power more crowd-safe.
wildsurging isn't safe
wildsurging isn't safeon the howl power, you should include allies in the deafened effect(not just hostile)...if you're offering an augment to exempt them.That's actually mostly to exempt them from the damage, make the power more crowd-safe.
True, but psions use the power too. The idea is that the deafness is caused by the psionic energy you charged the sound with, which can be more focused.
For the Volcanic Mind's Eruption ability, I'd adjust the saving throw (and the saving throw for all prestige class abilities for that matter) to be 10 + the volcanic mind's level + Cha mod, instead of 1/2 level. A prestige class only has 10 levels, which is a +5 bonus at max level. A 20th level character with a class ability would have a +10 bonus at max level. That is how other Pathfinder prestige class DCs equate out, any how.
This one's just because I'm excited about it:
Kyria’s Crystalline Aura
Discipline: Metacreativity
Level: Psion/wilder 4, psychic warrior 5
Display: Material
Manifesting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level
Power Points: Psion/wilder 7, psychic warrior 9
You create a cloud of whirling, razor-sharp crystals around yourself. When you manifest this power, choose defensive or offensive (you may alter this choice as a swift action). While this power is in defensive mode, the shards lock together to protect you from attacks; you benefit from cover (this does not impede your own attacks) and gain a +3 shield bonus to AC, as well as a +3 circumstance bonus to Reflex saves. While this power is in offensive mode, creatures within a 10 ft. radius of you suffer 5d6 slashing damage at the beginning of each round (and whenever they voluntarily enter a space within 10 ft. of you) and must succeed at a Reflex save or be forced into the nearest unoccupied space within 15 ft. of you.
Augment: You may augment this power in one or both of the following ways:
1. For every 2 additional power points you spend, the shield bonus and Reflex save bonus granted by the defensive mode increases by 1, and the damage of the offensive mode increases by 1 die (d6).
2. For every 2 additional power points you spend, the area of the offensive mode, as well as the distance it pushes creatures, increases by 5 ft.
Surge Augment: If you invoke your wild surge while manifesting this power, you may choose to manifest it in both defensive and offensive mode at the same time. If you do so, you may not switch its mode for this manifestation, and its duration is cut in half (rounded down).
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Biokinetic Endurance-
This is huge leaps and bounds beyond the equivalent lesser restoration, and even beyond the higher level restoration as well. Amongst other things, this 3rd level power is capable of completely shutting down abilities like the Advanced Rogue Talent Crippling Strike, a Ninja or Alchemist's Poison Use, the Ninja's Pressure Points Trick, it completely negates the Strength damage from weird (a 9th level spell), makes a Rod of Withering useless, .... The list goes on for a really long time. There are whole swaths of abilities that this just says "f$&+ you" to, and monsters it completely negates. This needs an "or until discharged" added to the duration and a line that says something to the effect of "Once this ability has negated 1 point of ability damage per manifester level, it is discharged".
Melpomene's Psionic Howl-
The first thing that jumps out is how powerful the Surge Augment is. That is really, really strong. Your flavor text also indicates a mental component to the ability, which is weird. I feel like you through all the stuff about how it affects objects in their specifically so it would affect constructs and undead, but that's inconsistent with the ability having a lingering mental effect like the deafness is described as being. This either needs a mind-affecting descriptor added, or you need to accept that all of the affects can't and shouldn't be applicable to every single challenge. The standard augments are basically fine.
Kyria's Crystalline Aura-
I'm assuming this provides partial cover? This is way too strong. You're granting a +5 bonus to AC and a +4 bonus to Reflex saves at 7th level that scales up to +11 AC, +10 Reflex and stacks with most other bonuses (In addition to being able to be converted into an offensive power with nearly as much defensive potential). If you intended that to be cover and not partial cover, it's actually +7/+5 scaling to +13/+11. It's worth noting as well cicumstance bonuses aren't actually intended to apply to saves so the +10 you'll be able to get will probably be pure gravy on top of any normal save boosters. You need to change the "and whenever they voluntarily enter a space within 10 ft. of you". It creates 5 foot step shenanigans and reinforces the fact that this a "f&&! you" ability aimed at melee combatants. Another problem here is that your offensive ability is probably at least as defensively powerful against any opponent who doesn't use ranged attacks as the actual defensive power, so it's either "nyah nyah, no one can hit me" or "nyah nyah, melee can't hit me and they'll get the equivalent of a 6th level cleric spell to the face for trying, probably more than once.
Biokinetic endurance is a proactive 3rd level power that protects against a specific threat, with a minutes/level duration. It's not much more powerful than resist energy or death ward in their particular aspects, except that resist energy is a 1st or 2nd level spell and death ward is a 4th level spell. Lesser restoration is a 1st or 2nd level reactive spell. It should absolutely be stronger than lesser restoration. And on top of that, it's personal range only unless you're a surging wilder, and lord knows non-contemplative wilders need all the help they can get with their teeny tiny list of powers known.
The surge augment on psionic howl is strong. But the basic power is really, really, really weak. Its damage is extremely low for the danger you have to put yourself in to tag a worthwhile number of targets with it, and the deafened condition is pretty much meaningless for everyone other than spellcasters with vocal components and bards trying to use an audible performance. Not to mention it targets Fortitude, which is a typically high save, compared to Reflex, which is typically lower.
Crystalline aura is absurdly powerful. Without any augmenting, if you're not using a shield casting it effectively gives you +3 Shield to AC, +4 Cover to AC, +3 Circumstance to Reflex, and +2 Cover to reflex. +7 AC and +5 Reflex for one action, with no augmenting. That's enough to knock a significant amount of attackers down to a 5% chance to hit. The offensive mode pretty much totally shuts down melee attackers.
The cover has been completely stripped from Crystalline Aura. For a moment I forgot what, precisely, cover did in Pathfinder (my traitorous brain subbed in the Legend version).
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Oh my God, what the hell was I smoking when I wrote the Melpomene's review. "Through" instead of "Threw", "their" instead of "there".... I'm going to blame my phone's auto-spell.
Anyways....
Biokinetic endurance is a proactive 3rd level power that protects against a specific threat, with a minutes/level duration. It's not much more powerful than resist energy or death ward in their particular aspects, except that resist energy is a 1st or 2nd level spell and death ward is a 4th level spell. Lesser restoration is a 1st or 2nd level reactive spell. It should absolutely be stronger than lesser restoration. And on top of that, it's personal range only unless you're a surging wilder, and lord knows non-contemplative wilders need all the help they can get with their teeny tiny list of powers known.
It's too powerful. Just flat out too powerful. If anything it should be more like death ward or a similar pre-emptive effect where it allows a save even if one normally wouldn't be allowed and provides a bonus (which could be scaled via augment), or incorporate my suggested changes. As is, it is vastly more powerful than the higher level death ward.
Looks like we're more or less on the same page with the other two powers though. Psionic Howl needs to be pretty heavily reworked, in that it's got a crazy good Surge Augment but muddled and thematically confused base mechanics, and Crystalline Aura is just flat out overpowered. If nothing else, the cover aspect of Crystalline Aura's defensive use should be removed in its entirety, and the bonus type for the Reflex save should really be something else, possibly Luck or Resistance. Circumstance is not a bonus type normally applied to saves.
I wouldn't say it's vastly more powerful than death ward. Death ward gives straight up immunity to negative energy effects and energy drain, which is all negative levels, stuff like shadow touch attacks, stuff like that. The bonus on saves against death effects is icing (I don't think there actually are any no-save death effects in the game).
But the biggest thing to note is that death ward can be cast on other people. Biokinetic endurance can't, unless you're a wilder that has wildsurge, and wilders get a tiny number of powers known and are probably the weakest of the full manifesting classes. So you have to risk enervation every time you want to put it on someone else.
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I wouldn't say it's vastly more powerful than death ward. Death ward gives straight up immunity to negative energy effects and energy drain, which is all negative levels, stuff like shadow touch attacks, stuff like that. The bonus on saves against death effects is icing (I don't think there actually are any no-save death effects in the game).
But the biggest thing to note is that death ward can be cast on other people. Biokinetic endurance can't, unless you're a wilder that has wildsurge, and wilders get a tiny number of powers known and are probably the weakest of the full manifesting classes. So you have to risk enervation every time you want to put it on someone else.
It's effective immunity to ability damage from all sources. You'll be hard-pressed to find many sources of ability damage that do more than 1-1d4 of the appropriate type in a single hit, so this pretty much just turns it off. It's effective immunity to a whole swath of abilities, magical and otherwise. At a bare minimum it should probably be a psion 4 / psywar 5 power instead of a 3/3.
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Does this mean that at some point there will be a book called "Really Ultimate Psionics, no this time we really mean it?"
Maybe "Ultimate Psionics Revisited"
Though DSPs style seems to be releasing lots of softcover expansion books as they find cool ideas to add.
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Maybe "Ultimate Psionics Revisited"
Though DSPs style seems to be releasing lots of softcover expansion books as they find cool ideas to add.
And it's not like Paizo stopped writing combat feats after Ultimate Combat, or releasing new spells after Ultimate Magic.
I expect we'll see a series of "Ultimate 2" books from Paizo, and we already know that DSP is going to be doing a series of Psionics Augmented books.
Does this mean that at some point there will be a book called "Really Ultimate Psionics, no this time we really mean it?"
Nah - this is part of the Psionics Augmented line. Sort of like how Path of War has the first book that introduces everything, and the second book loaded with delicious supplementary material? The material for this supplement is meant to enhance Wilder, or be Wilder-themed in some fashion. I've...bent...that requirement in a few cases, provided some toys that everyone gets to play with that are also useful for Wilders. This won't be our only Psionics Augmented product.
I'll admit, cutting my teeth on this one's been...interesting. Let's use that word, interesting. Psionics design is relatively new for me and I started with Psionic Bestiary, which is, surprisingly, a different field from these options. I can 'cheat' with monsters, adding abilities that I can control wholly from inception to production so that I can fulfill the vision I have of them in my head. Player options tend to be more heavily scrutinized, and given lines of comparison that range from reasonable (the current discussion about Biokinetic Endurance) to...well, let us say downright bizzare and not name any names or forums. The powers you're seeing here are the first I've ever designed, which is part of why I, as the designer, am happy about open beta on this stuff. It helps show me where I'm going wrong.
Psionics Augmented is going to be an ongoing line of pdf products. So far announced are Seventh Path, Mythic, and this. There will likely be more. And when it makes sense, we'll make a soft cover book. For example, Seventh Pay will definitely be available in print by itself due to the size.
Will there be a hardcover of Psionics Augmented? Maybe is the best answer I can say right now. It depends on how well the line does. :)
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i highly suggest being REEALLY careful on designing new powers...
especially when it comes to the specifics like "Cover" and "circumstance bonuses".
I highly encourage carefully adding fun and interesting "Surge Augments" to many of the original powers...for example, maybe a higher level augment for Telekinetic force that changes the duration from concentration to 1round/level. allowing you to concentrate on the power when you want to use it as a move or std action. or allow the use of the thrust option more than once...or knocking everyone prone in a 15ft burst...
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i highly suggest being REEALLY careful on designing new powers...
especially when it comes to the specifics like "Cover" and "circumstance bonuses".I highly encourage carefully adding fun and interesting "Surge Augments" to many of the original powers...for example, maybe a higher level augment for Telekinetic force that changes the duration from concentration to 1round/level. allowing you to concentrate on the power when you want to use it as a move or std action. or allow the use of the thrust option more than once...or knocking everyone prone in a 15ft burst...
Agreed on all counts. I certainly would like to see cool surge options added to existing powers!
Also, I linked it in earlier but I highly recommend that anyone designing new powers, spells, or abilities read the Designing Spells section of Ultimate Magic. There's a lot of great stuff in there, and the section on bonus types is really important for helping a designer avoid unintentional power creep by adding bonuses to game dynamics they were not intended to augment.
another Surge Augment that would be interesting...
Have you ever read FireStarter by StephenKing?
The Dad has the ability to "push" people but the harder he pushes the more strained he is...
make a surge augment for one of the lower level telepathic abilities.
Say Empathic Connection...if you wild surge it with at least a +2 Surge you can treat it like a Compelling Voice and take Xd6nonlethal damage...if you wildsurge it with at least a +4 Surge you can treat it like a MindControl and take even more NonLethal...(and don't make the nonlethal damage insignificant.maybe take 1 point of AbilityBurn to your manifesting stat each time you "push" like this) maybe limit this usage to Humanoid targets only.
it could open the wilder to a little more flexibility with their precious few powerknown slots...without reverting to PsychicReformation all the time like i do now...
in addition...let overchannel fuel lower level SurgeAugments...That way psions and others can play with SurgeAugments alittle bit with OverChannel or a SurgeCrystal item. But leave the really big/cool SurgeAugments to Wilders that can reach +4 and higher!
Can I ask you to reserve speculation on surge augments for existing powers for another thread? I kinda wanna focus up on the content here in this one.
Whats the Magic Word?
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Whats the Magic Word?
And the powers document is up and ready to rock!
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Sympathetic Drain: Class information is missing from the "Level:" and "Power Points:" lines.
Melpomene’s Psionic Howl: The [Sonic] tag is misplaced.
Mental Contagion: The [Mind-Affecting] tag is misplaced.
Euterpe’s Prophetic Song: Again, tags misplaced :)
Tags'll be handled in final formatting; I'm kinda...working for my own clarity with regards to that (the formatting I'm using doesn't quite match ult!psi either, which places some of these things on shared lines). The template you're seeing is easier for me to reference at a glance when I'm trying to edit or write.
Thanks for the catch on Drain, that's been fixed.
are these named powers off of DSP Iconics?
Justin, I'll address your feedback tomorrow when I'm (hopefully) feeling a bit better.
are these named powers off of DSP Iconics?
Sorta. Two of them are not attached to any iconic whatsoever. Kyria is the Volcanic Mind iconic - you'll see her in the artwork, later on.