AGAINST PSIONIC POWERS

question deals specifically with spells, psionic powers with these effects are treated exactly the same.

Area: Some powers affect an area. You select where the power originates, but otherwise you don't control which creatures or objects the power affects. Sometimes a power describes a specially defined area, but usually an area falls into one of the following categories: burst, cone, creatures, cylinder, emanation, objects, spread, and other. These areas are described in Chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook under Aiming a Spell. While the text in question deals specifically with spells, psionic powers with areas are exactly the same. Chapter 3 of the DUNGEON MASTER‘s Guide also provides helpful diagrams of each area.

Discipline

All powers are grouped according to their discipline. Each of the six disciplines is associated with a key ability score (See the Disciplines sidebar in Chapter 1: Psionic Classes). The key ability score is important when manifesting a power, because it modifies the DC of your opponent's saving throw to resist a power, as described in Saving Throw, below. The power's name line gives both the discipline the power belongs to and the appropriate key ability score.

Saving Throw

Most harmful powers allow an affected creature to make a saving throw to avoid some or all of the effect. The Saving Throw line in the power description defines which type of saving throw (if any) the power allows, with additional terms to describe how saving throws against the power work.

Negates: This term means that the power has no effect on an affected creature that makes a successful saving throw.

Half: The power deals damage, and a successful saving throw halves the damage taken (round down).

Partial: The power causes an effect on its subject, such as death. A successful saving throw means that some lesser effect occurs (such as being dealt damage rather than being killed) as detailed in the descriptive text.

None: No saving throw is allowed. (Object): The power can be manifested on objects, which receive saving throws only if they are magical or psionic, or if they are attended (held, worn, grasped, and so on) by a creature resisting the power, in which case the object gets the creatures saving throw bonus unless its own bonus is greater. (This notation does not mean that a power can only be manifested on objects. Some powers with this notation can be manifested on creatures or objects.) A psionic item's save bonuses are each equal to 2 + one-half its manifester level (Harmless): The power is usually beneficial, not harmful, but a targeted creature can attempt a saving throw if it wishes.

Saving Throw Difficulty Class: Each time you manifest a power, you set the DC of an opponent's saving throw: 1d20 + the level of the power + your ability score modifier for the key ability.

Succeeding at a Saving Throw: A creature that successfully saves against a power without obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but it cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. You do not sense when creatures succeed at saving throws against effect and area powers.

Voluntarily Giving up a Saving Throw: A creature can voluntarily forgo a saving throw and willingly accept a power's result. Even a character with a special resistance to psionics or magic can suppress this if he or she wants to.

Items Surviving after a Saving Throw: Unless the descriptive text for the power specifies otherwise, all items carried and worn are assumed to survive a psionic arrack. If a character rolls a natural 1 for his saving throw, however, an exposed item is harmed (provided the attack can harm objects). Determine which four significant objects are most likely to be struck and roll randomly among them. See Table 10-1 in Chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook; the top four items listed there are most likely to be struck in a psionic attack: shield, armor, helmet (or circlet/headband/third eye), or item in hand. Substitute “psionic power” for “magical attack,” and “psionic item” for “magic item,” as appropriate. The randomly determined item must make a saving throw against the attack form and suffer whatever damage the arrack deals. If an item is not carried or worn and is not psionic, it does not get a saving throw. It simply is dealt the appropriate damage.

Power%Resistance

Power resistance is a special defensive ability. If your power is being resisted by a creature with power resistance, you must make a manifester level check (1d20 + your manifester level) at least equal to the

VARIANT: SAVING THROW DIFFICULTY CLASS AGAINST PSIONIC POWERS

A statistically similar method of determining a victim's saving throw DC against a psionic power is to, quite simply, use the same method used by arcane and divine spells. Using this variant, a saving throw against a power has a DC of 10 + the level of the power + the key ability score modifier of the manifester. This has the advantage of saving time, and the disadvantage of removing a bit of the unique flavor of using a psionic power Instead of a spell.

creature's power resistance (PR) for the power to affect that creature. The defender's power resistance is like an “Armor Class” against psionic attacks.

Unless you are using the Psionics Are Different option (see later in this chapter), a defender's spell resistance functions just like power resistance in its ability to resist psionic powers. Likewise, power resistance grants psionic creatures an equal chance to resist spells, using the same mechanism: The total of 1d2o + caster level must be at least equal to the creature's power resistance for the spell to affect the creature.

A psionic power's Power Resistance line and descriptive text tell you whether power resistance protects creatures from it. In many cases, power resistance applies only when a resistant creature is targeted by the power, not when a resistant creature encounters a power that is already in place.

The terms “object” and “harmless” mean the same as for saving throws. A creature with power resistance must voluntarily drop the resistance in order to receive the effects of a power noted as harmless without the manifester level check described above.

The DUNGEON MASTER‘s Guide has more details on spell resistance. Even if the Psionics Are Different option is used, psionic powers map directly to spells for purposes of this discussion.

The Power ' s Result

Once you know which creatures (or Objects or areas) are affected, and whether those creatures have made successful saving throws (if any), you can apply whatever results a power entails, as defined in the descriptive text.

Duration

Once you've determined who is affected and how, you need to know for how long. A power's Duration line tells you how long the energy of the power lasts. Possible durations include the following categories: timed duration; instantaneous; permanent; concentration; subjects, effects, and areas; touch powers and holding the charge; discharge; and dismissible (D). Each of these duration types is described in Chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook under Duration. While the text in question deals specifically with spells, psionic powers with durations work exactly the same way. Some high-level powers (such as emulate power or true creation) entail an experience point (XP) cost to you. No power can restore the lost XP. You cannot spend so much XP you lose a level, so you cannot manifest the power unless you have enough XP to spare. However, you may, on gaining enough XP to achieve a new level, immediately spend the XP on manifesting the power rather than keeping it to advance a level. The Power Points line for a power includes a notation when an XP cost must be paid.

Display

When psionic powers are manifested, secondary displays usually accompany the primary effect. The psionic display may be auditory, material, mental, olfactory, or visual. No power's secondary display is significant enough to create consequences for the psionic creatures, allies, or opponents during combat. The secondary effects for a power only occur if the power’s description indicates it. If multiple powers with similar displays are in effect simultaneously, the displays do not necessarily become more intense. Instead, the general display remains much the same, though with minute spikes in intensity. A Psicraft check (DC 10 + 1 per additional power in use) reveals the exact number of simultaneous powers in play. Auditory (Au): From the manifester’s vicinity or in the vicinity of the power’s subject (manifester's choice), a bass-pitched hum issues, eerily akin to many deep-pitched voices. The sound grows in a heartbeat from hardly noticeable to as loud as a shout, which can be heard within 100 feet. At the manifester's option, the instantaneous sound can be so soft that it can only be heard within 15 feet with a successful Listen check (DC 10). Some powers describe unique auditory displays. Material (Ma): The subject or the area is briefly slicked with ephemeral translucent goo. The slime evaporates after 1 round regardless of the power's duration. Sophisticated psions recognize the slime as ectoplasmic seepage from the Astral Plane; this substance is utterly inert.

Mental (Me): A subtle chime rings in the minds of creatures within 15 feet of the manifester, or the subject (at the manifester's option) for the space of a second (or for the duration, at the manifester's option). Some powers describe unique mental displays.