PSIONICS
CHAPTER 4:
manifest the same power over and over if you have points left to pay for it. Power Points: The psion and psychic warrior class tables in Chapter 1: Psionic Classes show how many power points a character has access to each day, depending on level. A power's cost is determined by its level, as shown below. Every power's cost is noted in its description for ease of reference. Power Level 0 Power point cost 0/1
1 1
2 3
3 5
4 7
5 9
6 11
7 13
8 15
9 17
Manifestation Time You can manifest a power with a manifestation time of 1 action as a standard action, just like making an attack (see Chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook). A power that takes 1 full round to manifest is a full-round action. It comes into effect just before the beginning of your turn in the round after you began manifesting the power. You then act normally after the power is completed. A power that takes 1 minute to manifest comes into effect just before your turn 1 minute later (and for each of those 10 rounds you are manifesting a power as a fullround action).
Range A psionic power's range indicates how far from you it can reach, as defined on the Range line of the power description. A power's range is the maximum distance from you that the power's effect can occur, as well as the maximum distance at which you can designate the power's point of origin. If any portion of the area would extend beyond the range, that area is wasted. Standard ranges include the following: Personal: The power affects only you. Touch: You must touch a creature or object to affect it. Close: The power can reach up to 25 feet away from you. The maximum range increases 5 feet for every two full manifester levels. Medium: The power can reach up to 100 feet, plus 10 feet per manifester level. Long: The power can reach up to 400 feet, plus 40 feet per psionic class level. Unlimited: The power can reach anywhere on the same plane of existence.
WHAT IS A PSIONIC POWER? A psionic power is a one-time psionic effect. Psions and creatures who manifest a power with power points need not prepare their powers for use ahead of time. They either have sufficient power points to manifest a power or do not. A power is manifested when a psionic character pays its power point cost. Some psionic creatures automatically manifest psionic powers without paying a power point cost. Each power in the game has a specific effect as described under each power's entry below. A power known to a psion may
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Aiming a Power You must make some choice about whom the power is to affect or where the power's effect is to originate, depending on the type of power. Target or Targets: Some powers, such as charm person, have a target or targets. You manifest these powers directly on creatures or objects, as defined by the power itself. If you manifest a targeted power on the wrong
sort of target, such as manifesting charm person on a xorn the power has no effect. If the target of a power is yourself (“Target You”), you do not receive a saving throw and neither power resistance nor spell resistance applies. The Saving Throw and Power Resistance headers are omitted from such powers. Effect: Some powers, such as almost Metacreative powers, create or summon things rather than affecting things that are already present. Unless otherwise noted in the power description, you must designate the location where these things are to appear, either by seeing it or defining it (such as “The ectoplasmic shambler will appear 20 feet into the cave that the xorn is hiding in”). Range determines how far away an effect can appear, but if the effect is mobile (an astral construct, for instance), it can move regardless of the power's range. Many effects usually fall into the ray or spread category. Ray and spread effects are described in Chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook under Aiming a Spell. While the text in be used as many times as he or she has power points to pay for it. Because a psion has a given number of power points per day, this effectively limits the number of powers a psion can use in a day, although psionic characters also have a limited number of free manifestations for their 0-level powers. A psion's power is based in the particular configuration of his or her own mind and body. The entire energy of the effect is produced by the mind of the psion. The measured and conscious control of that bio-engendered energy manifests the desired effect.
