From: jdelisle@udel.edu (J. G. Delisle)
Subject: Re: Dragon Psionics Class
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Boyz from the Dwarf
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 21:44:00 GMT

In article <1993Jan21.030208.10265@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu>, smt0@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (STEFAN M. THIEME) writes...
>In article <20JAN199312363535@udel.edu>, jdelisle@udel.edu (J. G. Delisle) write
>>>first - There are not enough monster out there who could do anything about a
>>>        psionist.. It requires more work for the DM.
>>
>>       More work? As in saying "creature X's mind is too non-humanoid for
>>telepathic powers to work", or do you go and make them Nth level psi's?
>>
>Why should I have to modify every monster now? Before psi, the monsters were
>fairly balanced against the party; they were perpared for PC magic, PC swords,
>PC gods etc. Now we have psi, and I have to make them psions? Though its not
>too much work, it slows down the game if I pick a monster on the fly for a
>random encounter.

	Too much work? Just give the monster a +4 saving throw vs. any psionic
powers for resistance, immunity to telepathy, amulet of psionic reflection,
etc. When in doubt, fudge it. (I give the players a break occasionally, so fair
is fair).

>Listen to what you said. "mid level psi's can only do disintergrate once or
>twice per day." Which means, your mid-level psi (8th level, let's say) can on a
>lucky day kill TWO DRAGONS in one day. He won't be mid-level for long, then,
>will he? All the dragon has to do is fail one saving throw.

	Any dragon worth a decent amount of XP's is going to have _excellent_
saving throws. Also, a Psi with maximum wisdom only has a 70% chance of using
Disintegrate properly, with a 5% of backfire. Also, without a recharge, those
two Disintegrates use almost _all_ PSP's (even with 18 wisdom, at 8th level,
there would only be about 30 PSPs remaining before the Psi is powerless).
	And a larger dragon could probably survive a 2'x2'x2' hole inside it.
Wounded, yes. Dead, no.

> On the otherhand, look at the wizard. First he needs to have the proper spells
>memorized. He needs to have the reagents. (he also needs concentration, but so
>does the psion, so I leave it out). He casts a spell against a dragon he firsts
>has to get around the MR, and then the saving throw. Plus, a mid level wizard
>probably will not be able to kill the dragon with one spell.

	OK, let's look at the wizard (8th level, for the sake of discussion).
A dragon's magic resistance is about as much of a penalty as the Psi's need
to make a power check, and psi's have to worry about the saving throw, too.
Besides, mages have a few spells that could seriously injure or kill a dragon:
phantasmal killer (for the less intelligent dragon), fireball, lightning bolt
(the standard heavy damage spells), acid arrow (constant damage, to prevent
spellcasting), etc, etc. And mages have defensive spells that could help
protect them and their companions (stoneskin, protection from evil, filter,
minor globe of invulverability, wind wall, fire shield, etc. Not all mages
have these spells, but not every psi has disintegrate, either).

	I'm not saying psionicists are wimps... but they're not the gods 
everyone thinks they are. Just good PR, I suppose.

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| From the terminal of Joe Delisle  |  Don't open your eyes, take it from me |
| jdelisle@loyola.edu  (preferred)  |  I have found, you can find, happiness |
| jdelisle@cs.loyola.edu            |  in slavery.  -- NIN                   |
|              "I was up above it, but now I'm down in it"                   |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+