Ilorin Lorati
2015-08-31, 01:35 PM
One of my personal favorite parts of psionics is just how flexible the system is, and moreso than simply being a manifester spirit I wanted it to be as flexible as the subsystem that it's based on. It's not 100% finished, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with where it sits with my own pair of eyes right now, and wanted to share it to get additional ones in case I missed anything important.
From a flavor standpoint, this is built for my home games; since the advent of Paizo's Psychic Magic in playtest last year, I've adopted psionic power as being a connection - innate or learned - to a multiversal consciousness from which manifesters draw power (the Overmind). This gives them their own place in terms of being "psychic", without necessitating a change to the manifesters or how they exhibit themselves. As such, the spirit itself is probably going to be limited to just creatures that previously had the psionic subtype in my home games, but I didn't design it with that assumption in mind; this flavor shouldn't be hard to ignore at all.
Overmind
Spirit Bonus: When you channel the Overmind, you gain power points equal to your spirit bonus times ½ your level (minimum 1), and your spirit bonus applies to Autohypnosis and Knowledge (Psionics) checks.
Seance Boon: Choose one psionic talent you know; that talent can be manifested as if you were maintaining psionic focus, regardless of whether or not you currently are.
Favored Locations: Places of emotional or historical significance, places of learning, places where secrets died.
Influence Penalty: The alien knowledge of the Overmind weighs heavily on you. You take a penalty to all Wisdom-based skill and ability checks equal to your spirit bonus, and you must make a concentration check without the benefit of psionic focus (DC 15 + your spirit bonus + the level of the spell) in order to cast a psychic spell (this penalty does not apply to psionic powers manifested).
Taboos: Choose one: you must attempt to discern a secret you believe is being kept from you, no matter how trivial or dangerous; you cannot cast any psychic spell unless you have exhausted all other options to resolve the challenge you are currently facing; you must choose an emotion and attempt to cause anyone you come across to feel that emotion.
Psionic Infusion (Lesser, Su): You gain one one Psionic or Metapsionic feat that you meet the prerequisites of, as well as one psionic power known for each medium spell level you can cast (including 0); these powers may be off any list except discipline power lists. Your manifester level for these powers is equal to your medium level, but you do not gain bonus power points from a high Charisma score simply by virtue of being able to manifest them.
You can manifest these powers by spending power points as appropriate to manifest them normally or by expending a spell slot of a level equal to their power level to manifest them as if you had spent the minimum number of power points required to manifest them. Alternatively, you may combine these methods, augmenting a power further by spending power points after manifesting it using a spell slot.
The reason why I specifically limited power points is because they already effectively get bonus longevity through their spell slots. Also, while it's only limited to 4th level powers by default, I've introduced a feat below to give them increased manifesting ability. Again, flexibility is the name of the game here.
Surging Psionics (Intermediate, Su): You can allow the Overmind to gain 1 point of influence over you in order to manifest one psionic power as if you had spent a number of power points equal to your medium caster level. This power does not need to be on your list of powers known, but must be on the power list you selected powers from, and of a level you can manifest.
Unveiled Secret (Greater, Su): You gain one additional psionic or metapsionic feat that you meet the prerequisites of, and can allow the Overmind to gain 1 point of influence over you in order to gain one more psionic or metapsionic feat.
Echoes of the Overmind (Supreme, Su): The most powerful of mediums can see beyond the lone aspect of the spirit that grants them their power. Once per day as a free action that can be performed at any time (even when it is not your turn), you may change any number of powers and feats granted to you from the Overmind.
Sidebar: Relic Channeler and the Overmind
When channeling the Overmind with the Relic Channeler Archetype (or another archetype with similar limitations to spirit abilities selected), the Powerful Bond ability grants an Psionic or Metapsionic feat when the medium gains the Surging Psionics Spirit Power, for a total of three feats granted from the spirit.
Psychic Reformation Lite+. More limited than psychic reformation, but can be used at any time.
If a medium gets to 17th level using that archetype, I personally have no problems with them using it liberally to give them some of their flexibility back. A DM that uses it, however, might want the archetype to reset the abilities changed when they rest.
New Feat
Insight of the Universal Spirit
Your connection to the Overmind is stronger than normal, granting you improved manifesting power when you channel it.
Prerequisites: Medium level 3rd, ability to channel the Overmind.
Benefit: When channeling the Overmind, you increase the maximum level of powers you can learn and manifest through the Psionic Infusion spirit ability by 1. When manifesting a power of a level above the level you can cast as a medium, you may only manifest the power using power points and must have a medium spellcasting ability score of at least 10 + the level of the powers you wish to manifest.
Additionally, when channeling the Overmind, you gain bonus power points from a high medium spellcasting modifier as if you were a manifester of a level equal to ½ your medium level.
Special: You can take this feat a second time when you attain Medium level 16th; if you do, the maximum level of powers you gain through the Psionic Infusion spirit ability increases by 2 instead of 1.
Special: This feat is treated as having the [Psionic] tag for anyone that has the ability gain and maintain psionic focus.
Extra longevity aids with the extra focus on psionic powers. The second special is there to assure that the feat can be taken by both level-up feats and Overmind bonus feats, even if the character is not naturally psionic in the specific game.
From a flavor standpoint, this is built for my home games; since the advent of Paizo's Psychic Magic in playtest last year, I've adopted psionic power as being a connection - innate or learned - to a multiversal consciousness from which manifesters draw power (the Overmind). This gives them their own place in terms of being "psychic", without necessitating a change to the manifesters or how they exhibit themselves. As such, the spirit itself is probably going to be limited to just creatures that previously had the psionic subtype in my home games, but I didn't design it with that assumption in mind; this flavor shouldn't be hard to ignore at all.
Overmind
Spirit Bonus: When you channel the Overmind, you gain power points equal to your spirit bonus times ½ your level (minimum 1), and your spirit bonus applies to Autohypnosis and Knowledge (Psionics) checks.
Seance Boon: Choose one psionic talent you know; that talent can be manifested as if you were maintaining psionic focus, regardless of whether or not you currently are.
Favored Locations: Places of emotional or historical significance, places of learning, places where secrets died.
Influence Penalty: The alien knowledge of the Overmind weighs heavily on you. You take a penalty to all Wisdom-based skill and ability checks equal to your spirit bonus, and you must make a concentration check without the benefit of psionic focus (DC 15 + your spirit bonus + the level of the spell) in order to cast a psychic spell (this penalty does not apply to psionic powers manifested).
Taboos: Choose one: you must attempt to discern a secret you believe is being kept from you, no matter how trivial or dangerous; you cannot cast any psychic spell unless you have exhausted all other options to resolve the challenge you are currently facing; you must choose an emotion and attempt to cause anyone you come across to feel that emotion.
Psionic Infusion (Lesser, Su): You gain one one Psionic or Metapsionic feat that you meet the prerequisites of, as well as one psionic power known for each medium spell level you can cast (including 0); these powers may be off any list except discipline power lists. Your manifester level for these powers is equal to your medium level, but you do not gain bonus power points from a high Charisma score simply by virtue of being able to manifest them.
You can manifest these powers by spending power points as appropriate to manifest them normally or by expending a spell slot of a level equal to their power level to manifest them as if you had spent the minimum number of power points required to manifest them. Alternatively, you may combine these methods, augmenting a power further by spending power points after manifesting it using a spell slot.
The reason why I specifically limited power points is because they already effectively get bonus longevity through their spell slots. Also, while it's only limited to 4th level powers by default, I've introduced a feat below to give them increased manifesting ability. Again, flexibility is the name of the game here.
Surging Psionics (Intermediate, Su): You can allow the Overmind to gain 1 point of influence over you in order to manifest one psionic power as if you had spent a number of power points equal to your medium caster level. This power does not need to be on your list of powers known, but must be on the power list you selected powers from, and of a level you can manifest.
Unveiled Secret (Greater, Su): You gain one additional psionic or metapsionic feat that you meet the prerequisites of, and can allow the Overmind to gain 1 point of influence over you in order to gain one more psionic or metapsionic feat.
Echoes of the Overmind (Supreme, Su): The most powerful of mediums can see beyond the lone aspect of the spirit that grants them their power. Once per day as a free action that can be performed at any time (even when it is not your turn), you may change any number of powers and feats granted to you from the Overmind.
Sidebar: Relic Channeler and the Overmind
When channeling the Overmind with the Relic Channeler Archetype (or another archetype with similar limitations to spirit abilities selected), the Powerful Bond ability grants an Psionic or Metapsionic feat when the medium gains the Surging Psionics Spirit Power, for a total of three feats granted from the spirit.
Psychic Reformation Lite+. More limited than psychic reformation, but can be used at any time.
If a medium gets to 17th level using that archetype, I personally have no problems with them using it liberally to give them some of their flexibility back. A DM that uses it, however, might want the archetype to reset the abilities changed when they rest.
New Feat
Insight of the Universal Spirit
Your connection to the Overmind is stronger than normal, granting you improved manifesting power when you channel it.
Prerequisites: Medium level 3rd, ability to channel the Overmind.
Benefit: When channeling the Overmind, you increase the maximum level of powers you can learn and manifest through the Psionic Infusion spirit ability by 1. When manifesting a power of a level above the level you can cast as a medium, you may only manifest the power using power points and must have a medium spellcasting ability score of at least 10 + the level of the powers you wish to manifest.
Additionally, when channeling the Overmind, you gain bonus power points from a high medium spellcasting modifier as if you were a manifester of a level equal to ½ your medium level.
Special: You can take this feat a second time when you attain Medium level 16th; if you do, the maximum level of powers you gain through the Psionic Infusion spirit ability increases by 2 instead of 1.
Special: This feat is treated as having the [Psionic] tag for anyone that has the ability gain and maintain psionic focus.
Extra longevity aids with the extra focus on psionic powers. The second special is there to assure that the feat can be taken by both level-up feats and Overmind bonus feats, even if the character is not naturally psionic in the specific game.