Psion

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The Pros and Cons of a Psion

Psion Assets

When you choose a psion, you have access to many formidable psionic powers, but the class also has a few hidden resources. Here's a brief list of things you'll have going for you when you choose a psion.

• High Skill Points: Psions receive a mere two skill points per level, but don't let that fool you. Psions have high Intelligence scores (because Intelligence governs their psychic abilities), and a high Intelligence score boosts the number of skill points they have available.

• Good Will Saves: A psion uses the best progression for Will saves (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). This helps the psion resist most effects that attack or fool her mind or assault her spirit, such as charms, compulsions, illusions, fear, and even inflict wounds spells.

• Good Power Selection: The psion power list is unmatched for flexibility and sheer size. With the right power, you can damage or slay foes, whisk yourself (and your friends) to safety, discern hidden truths, throw up impassible barriers, create useful things out of thin air, or work profound transformations on yourself or the creatures and objects around you.

• Discipline: A psion must choose a particular area of psychic study. The psion class includes six disciplines -- clairsentience (information gathering powers), metacreativity (powers that shape items or creatures from ectoplasm), psychokinesis (powers that transform matter and energy), psychometabolism (powers that alter creatures' mental or biological states), psychoportation (powers that move items or creatures in space or time), and telepathy (powers that allow mental contact between creatures or provide mental control over others).

Choosing a discipline gives the psion access to a short list of exclusive powers (and a few class skills other psions don't have). The psion cannot choose powers from other discipline's lists, but this still leaves a broad array of powers available.

A discipline also can serve as an underlying theme for the character's approach to life, adventuring, and psionic study.

• Bonus Feats: A psion gains bonus feats at 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th level. These feats must be psionic feats, metapsionic feats, or psionic item creation feats. A psion's selection of bonus feats can greatly expend her power.

Psion Weaknesses

Psions pay a heavy price for their extensive psionic powers. Here are a few you'll want consider when thinking about a psion character.

• Low Hit Points: The psion gains only 4-sided hit dice which inevitably leads to a low hit point total.

• Poor Armor Class: The psion has no proficiency with any kind of armor or shield. As a consequence, the character has a low Armor Class. The combination of low hit points and low Armor Class leaves most psions vulnerable in physical combat, especially melee. Many psionic powers, especially those from the psychometabolism discipline, can improve a psion's defenses. Employing such powers, however, expends time and psionic potential that the psion could use for other things.

• Poor Weapon Selection: The psion has proficiency with the club, dagger, heavy crossbow, light crossbow, quarterstaff, and shortspear -- not a world-beating collection of weaponry.

• Poor Attack Bonus: A psion's base attack bonus is +1 per two psion levels, which is as bad as any in the game. Psions can dish out lots of damage with their spells, but they don't do well with weapons.

• Poor Reflex and Fortitude Saves: Psions have the worst progression for Reflex and Will saves (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). Psions aren't good at avoiding attacks on their bodies.