PSYCHIC

Summary: Basic conversion of the Complete Psychic Handbook / Advanced PHB Psychic class to IH, and requiring one of those supplements to work. This version of the class does away with many of the forms of psionics from that book which would prove problematic for IH and focusses on Clairsentience and Telepathy.

Changes from Source Text

Combat Block

Skills

The Psychic receives the Perception and Social skill groups. In addition, psychics are the only classes which can take psychic skills, and max ranks in a psychic skill are determined from psychic ranks, not total character ranks.

Skill Points at 1st Level: (8 + Int) x 4

Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 8 + Int

Design Notes: Most classes seem to bump up at least one category in numbers of skill points from base to IH, and I continued this trend.

Feats

Social 2-10

Lore 1-9

All else other

Special Abilities

Bonus Feats: The psychic continues to receive bonus psychic feats at levels 1,2,4,5,10,13,17, and 20.

Psychic Ability: The psychic gains this feat for free; note that since advancement in psychic skills is limited to psychics, there is little point to taking this feat if you are non-psychic.

Tower of Iron Will: This ability has 2 functions -

- The psychic receives a bonus to will saves = 1+1/4 of his psychic levels, rounded down. This bonus applies in all cases where will saves are used, including psychic grappling.

- The psychic receives free Concentration skill = psychic level +3.

Skill Expertise: Identical to the thief ability, but applies only to psychic skills (and thus does not interfere with the thief's ability, since they cannot learn psychic skills).

Changes to Psychic Abilities

Many of the Psychometabolic (healing, stat boosts, stat drains) and Psychoportative (teleport, etc) abilities are heavily problematic in IH; psychokinesis is less problematic, but it still is exceptionally powerful in combat. My solution is to drop them all, flat out, and make psionics a more intangible thing. There are therefore no psychokinetic, psychoportative, or psychometabolic skills.

The feats which remain are: Clairsentience, Combat Concentration, Craft Psychic Construct, Direct Talent, Empower Talent, Erase Signature, Extend Talent, Greater Psychic Focus, Maximize Talent, Mental Fortitude, Mind Switch (likely NPC/First only, since it's incredibly unbalancing), Mind Trap, Multitasking, Psychic Ability, Psychic Focus, Psychic Invisibility, Psychic Link, Psychic Reflection, Psychic Severance (no permanent option), Psychic Weapon, Quicken Talent, Reduced Strain, Sensitive, Shield Penetration, Subtle Talent, Truth Reading, Widen Talent. The most important of these are Clairsentience, Psychic Weapon, and Telepathy.

Psychic Grappling loses its pin option - you can still inflict damage or trigger an ability, but you cannot simply render your opponent helpless round in round out.

Implications

• Given the high saves of IH characters, it is likely that psychic grappling will be required to pull off PvP skill use, and most serious psychics will have Greater Psychic Focus: Telepathy. A high Wisdom, the Iron Will feat, and the Tower of Iron Will class ability make this very possible.
• Given how fast IH characters recover from subdual damage, Psychics can use their abilities relatively freely, although they can get into trouble if they suffer significant amounts of real damage after making extensive use of their reserves.
• Given the focus on manipulation and information in psionics, it is likely that psychics will be powerful politically. It may be helpful to make psionics a suppressed discipline similar to the Deryni in Katherine Kurtz's works; many may be psionic, but they have to be careful not to get caught or suffer, at the very least, ostracism.