Restrained vs Kineticist

[Fenenir]

Recently I've realized that almost none of the Impulses have the Attack or Manipulate trait, meaning that Restrained is little different from Grabbed, when used against a Kineticist.

For all other classes Restrained is utterly crippling - martials can't even Strike and spellcasters can't cast spells. Until they Escape. And even on a success, the Martials still suffer from MAP and lose an Action whereas spellcasters are rather unlikely to ever Escape at all (assuming it's not a lower-level enemy).

Yet Kineticists don't really care. They can use most of their abilities unchallenged. Is this intentional? Am I missing something obvious?

[QuidEst]

"You can use an impulse only if your kinetic aura is active and channeling that element, and only if you have a hand free to shape the elemental flow."

That free hand is potentially the catch. While they don't have the manipulate trait, impulses will still be stopped if you can't reasonably be said to have a hand free. As a GM, I'd probably consider that "handcuffs or being restrained by someone who knows to focus on the hands specifically". But regardless of interpretation, it's definitely less restrictive than what casters would face, and that's probably intentional.

[Fenenir]

QuidEst wrote:

"You can use an impulse only if your kinetic aura is active and channeling that element, and only if you have a hand free to shape the elemental flow."

That free hand is potentially the catch. While they don't have the manipulate trait, impulses will still be stopped if you can't reasonably be said to have a hand free. As a GM, I'd probably consider that "handcuffs or being restrained by someone who knows to focus on the hands specifically". But regardless of interpretation, it's definitely less restrictive than what casters would face, and that's probably intentional.

Yeah, the "free hand" thing is the only plausible hook I was able to find. A "free hand" is basically an "empty hand" and, Restrained or not, it's still empty.

I would imagine that the Manipulate trait was intentionally excluded from the Impulse trait due to Reactive Strike (and similar) and I'm perfectly fine with that part, but to ignore a condition that most others would find crippling does not sit right with me.

[QuidEst]

Fenenir wrote:

QuidEst wrote:

"You can use an impulse only if your kinetic aura is active and channeling that element, and only if you have a hand free to shape the elemental flow."

That free hand is potentially the catch. While they don't have the manipulate trait, impulses will still be stopped if you can't reasonably be said to have a hand free. As a GM, I'd probably consider that "handcuffs or being restrained by someone who knows to focus on the hands specifically". But regardless of interpretation, it's definitely less restrictive than what casters would face, and that's probably intentional.

Yeah, the "free hand" thing is the only plausible hook I was able to find. A "free hand" is basically an "empty hand" and, Restrained or not, it's still empty.

I would imagine that the Manipulate trait was intentionally excluded from the Impulse trait due to Reactive Strike (and similar) and I'm perfectly fine with that part, but to ignore a condition that most others would find crippling does not sit right with me.

Eh. I think it fits well with the class fantasy- trying to grab and hold the pyrokineticist should be a stupid move. At the same time, it isn't impossible to lock them up.

Casters can get things like Unfettered Movement, a spell that makes all escape attempts auto-succeed.