Psionics: Energy Missile, Manifester Level and ML Boosters

[Endarire]

I'm a Telepath5 who took Expanded Knowledge to nab energy missile.  I have Practiced Manifester, Spellgifted: Psychokinesis (+1 ML for energy missile), Overchannel, and Talented.

If I invest only 3PP into energy missile, how much damage will it do and what will its DC be?

[Lycanthromancer]

Practiced Manifester won't do anything, since it only works up to your HD (however, if you were a telepath 3/rogue 2, for instance, your full normal manifester level would be 5, even though you'd only count as a 3rd level psion for powers known and such - 7 with Spellgifted and Overchannel for energy missile).

Even with those feats, spending 3pp will only do 3d6 damage (plus or minus, depending on the energy you use; those feats don't pay augmentation costs, after all, and you only get what you pay for).

However, you can go above your normal ML if you use Overchannel and Spellgifted, so you could spend up to 7pp to get 7d6 damage.

[Endarire]

EDIT: False alarm!  Alpha2 made this post obsolete.

I'm in Pathfinder where energy missile got slightly gimped.  Now I need to choose an energy type when I learn the power.

I can go cold (+1 damage per die and Fort save instead of Reflex), electricity (+2 DC), fire (+1 damage per die), or sonic (-1 damage per die).  I want mundo damage.  What do you recommend?

[Lycanthromancer]

Avoid anything blasty with a will.

The only real reason you'd want to blast in psionics is because you can choose your energy type.

Go with something else instead (see: astral construct).

[PhaedrusXY]

I want mundo damage.  What do you recommend?

Given that nerf, I'd recommend retraining your Expanded Knowledge to something besides Energy Missile. Maybe Astral Construct, or Minor Creation (to make poison). Blasting burns through power points like nobody's business, and unless Pathfinder also rectified that, they've made it even more suboptimal than it already was.

Did they also include a way to pierce through things that are resistant/immune to energy for psions? If not... well, screw them. Just screw them anyway, in fact.

[Anklebite]

there is a reason I do not play pathfinder.

[Lycanthromancer]

Wait, was the edit saying that the nerf is no longer applicable?

Even if it isn't, astral construct and psionic minor creation are still better overall, especially if you use them to their full creativity potential.

[Nunkuruji]

Privileged Energy from Complete Psionic can help... a bit, if it's available.

[A_Shadow_of_Life]

How does one optimize Astral Construct exactly? (I know already of the Constructor PrC, very nice for A.C.)

[archangel.arcanis]

How does one optimize Astral Construct exactly? (I know already of the Constructor PrC, very nice for A.C.)

1)be creative
2)BE CREATIVE
3)get infinite PP with a recharge of some kind
4)replace the trap monkey with it.
5)coat it in poison; currently have a shaper that make Black lotus extract with minor creation, rips it out of the time stream with quentessence, puts it in an extradimintional space, and uses it to coat my constructs.

[Lycanthromancer]

This post has just a sampling of the many, many, many uses for astral constructs (and that's not even including any of the uses for higher level ones).

It's insanely versatile if you use them imaginatively.

[Endarire]

Energy missile is better in alpha2, letting me change energy types when I blow my focus.  I'm relying on this power to get me through an arena game.

[Negative Zero]

This post has just a sampling of the many, many, many uses for astral constructs (and that's not even including any of the uses for higher level ones).

It's insanely versatile if you use them imaginatively.

And don't forget, XPH 185 says that you can use Craft (Sculpting) to change the shape of your Astral Construct. I mean, you probably can't make extra arms or make it a quadruped, but you could make it into a bipedal staircase with arms, if that's what you want at the time. I had a (Kobold) Erudite whose teammate, an awakened mouse rogue, would hide inside a tunnel network inside of the Astral Construct, and when it grappled someone, they'd be flat-footed so the mouse could get easy sneak attacks.

There are also simpler uses, like having an astral construct whose hand has a growth shaped exactly like an envelope containing a letter with a message written on it, and delivering the message. And you wouldn't have to worry about disposal, because after the duration runs out, the construct and the letter will evaporate.

[nijineko]

only way to get free augmentation is the wild surge, and overchanneling i believe.

[Endarire]

I saw nothing about Overchannel auto-augmenting powers.

[Lycanthromancer]

I saw nothing about Overchannel auto-augmenting powers.

It doesn't; you still have to pay to get the augmentation in. It's just that Overchannel and wild surge are the only ways to get spend more power points than your manifester level.

However, it's unclear how this works when you get items and feats and other abilities that reduce the cost of your powers; do they simply give you a point of augmentation for free (but still count against your augmenting), or do they give you a free point of augmentation on top of what you're already doing, effectively breaking the cap without actually doing so?

No one knows, and it's mildly frustrating.

[archangel.arcanis]

While there is not official rule for it we have been using it as treat it as if you had spent 1 more point than you actually did, but you had to spend a minimum of 1 point. Which does allow it to break the ML cap but hasn't broken the game for us despite stacking them up like legos.

[nijineko]

...stacking them up like legos.

now there's an awesome use for astral contructs. ^^ too bad it's so tough to get more than one.

[Negative Zero]

...stacking them up like legos.

now there's an awesome use for astral contructs. ^^ too bad it's so tough to get more than one.

It's much easier if you convince your group that the one-at-a-time limitation is stupid and that it should be ignored.

[veekie]

Or if they don't know the rule existed.
Not everyone goes and read every line of a book.