Rating: 
Summary: Good For some...
Review: This book is best used if the DM in your group has decided it's a good idea to incorporate psionics. If you are the only psion out there, then this book is merely a bunch of ways to stun non-psionic beings. However, if your DM does welcome psionics, then you can picture the havoc you can wreak by "casting" psionic powers while wearing full plate armor, creating your own demiplane of existence, or playing as one of the nearly all-powerful psionic races! So only order this book if you and your DM have worked out that you will have a world with psionics in it.
P.S.-USE THE PRESTIGE CLASSES!!! They can really spice up an adventure!
Rating:
Summary: Really nice design, and decently written.
Review: It has the new ruleset for D&D, which seems well done, except for the exp changes i don't agree with to much. But all the info is there for the basic setup of the 3rd Ed. rules. Some new spells. Not many... But all in all, if you are a avid D&D collector as well as a player/DM and the like it is a good read and nice collector's item.Love the new multi-class rules, they definately needed changing.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent, and unfotunately necessary, though not fully useful.
Review: This rulebook is decent, and although I hate this sudden media-saturation of dnd and the way they now make the books, I must admit, playing githzerai soul-knife characters is the coolest thing. This book really is a necessity if you plan on playing psionic creatures (though if you're planning on buying this just to get githzerai info, though I doubt many are, the manual of the planes is much more productive). Aside from that, it offers little else. The info is rather skim, and frankly, I find psionic characters to be unbalanced (i.e. they are far too powerful late in the game, and early on, they're about as weak as a mage, unless you choose a more fighter-oriented type, but what's the point?). The book, all in all, is just barely worth the money (in fact if you think about it, it really isn't...), but frankly, on a personal note, I am deeply disappointed by its lack of content, and practical uselessness. In fact I would urge you to buy it, copy all the tables and spells, and maybe the monsters (trust me, it won't take that long), and just return it. Unfortunately I was dumb enough to lose the receipt.
Rating:
Summary: Good rules, but there could have been more
Review: I believe that I will start this review off by suggesting that you not read this or any other review before you decide if you want to buy this product or not. They're probably just not going to help you. If you want to know if there are rules in this book that are clear, concise, and balanced, there are--other than that, how you feel about this source book is going to be entirely a matter of personal taste. I liked it for the most part, myself. This weird conception of treating psionics and magic as completely different entities has caused more trouble than good in the past (and made it almost impossible to incorporate psionics with an established campaign setting--the hours I spent setting MACs and figuring out how to balance it all still make me cringe). The new rules system parallels the magic system in third edition almost directly, and that does a lot to keep the psion on par with other characters and get the powers lined up in a row. All in all, this book has a lot going for it. The rules dovetail neatly with the core books, so integrating them should be simple enough work, the new powers and (particularly) feats are interesting (I would suggest that anybody who finds a psionic character to be underpowered examine just what he can do with the correct choice of psionic feats), and the core psionics rules balance as close to perfectly with the existing rules as can be expected. So what's wrong with the book? Well, for one thing, the psionic warrior was a bad idea to start with. This is precisely the kind of hybrid class that was supposed to be eliminated by the free multiclassing rules, and putting one in a supplement book like this just does not set a good precedent. If there's any element of these rules that could potentially unbalance things, it's the warrior, and novices need to be careful to make sure that this beefy class isn't abused. There's also a little bit too much of an effort to make psionics seem unique. I suppose it was to be expected that the designers would look for SOMETHING to replace the hideously underpowered rules that had made psionics distinct from magic in previous editions, but renaming every single magic item and skill for psionic characters is just annoying and confusing. The book is also a little on the light side--there's only about half as much text here as in the core books. That's not a bad thing in and of itself, but there's a lot of space here that could have been used to expand the product. In particular, I would have liked to see a little more elaboration on prestige classes, how psionics fits into the world at large, and (particularly) an adventure or two demonstrating creative ways to use psionics in a campaign. As it stands, what you get with this book are the core rules, straight up, and if that's all you're really looking for, you won't be dissatisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Much impoved!
Review: As a DM, I try to give my PCs as many options as possible character wise. But one thing I have always forbidden was Psionics. In AD&D 2d Ed they were overpowered and inbalanced the game. When I played with one, he could easily have taken out mine, when he was at less than half the level. So, understandable, when this 3rd Ed D&D book came out I was very, very sceptical. I even banned the playing of Psions in my campaign. But after reading this book, I must admit that the class has been stablized and a new very interesting class (that I want to play) has been added, the Psychic Warrior. Thanks to this book I am now allowing Psions and Psychic Warriors in my campaign and am looking forward to one day playing them. WOC did a great job with the classes and this book. If you didn't like Psyonics before, I think after reading this you may change your mind. Give it a look.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T BUY - BORROW!!!
Review: This book is an interesting variant, but really not worth it.
The system used is just a magic variant system, with POINTS spent to cast (manifest) a spell (power).
At half the thickness of such books as the DM's Guide or the Monster Manual it's not cheap. I recommend, if you use it at all, that you borrow it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a must.
Review: When I got this book I was hoping for something that was not just another magic system. After all the psionic from 2nd was created with that in mind. If you want magic then there is always a wizard/sorcerer or cleric but the psionic since day one was not magic. The writer of this book took it upon himself to deem that psions are nothing but mind mages who in the large scheme of things (and play testing) turn out to be a lot weaker than the other classes. Now this may be alright for a lot of people but when I go out and pay for a book I really don't want to get a class that is just plain weaker than everything else. (Also since I have been a major Psionic fan since 2nd its comes as major disappointment) There were also things that got under my skin like "displays" This was a "great idea" to make psionics balanced and in return made them stand out more when conjuring a power than a wizard. Things like lights gathering around you and odd smells emanating from you. Even on paper this idea made me cringe. Even the psionic powers seemed inferior to most of the wizard spells Not just that but most of the powers that seemed really interesting were just wizard spells that were converted with zero thought for the psion in mind. Some powers are interesting and usable but over all I found them to be just plain weaker than spells. If you liked psionics before you will be disappointed in this book. It just does not have the unique flavor of 2nd . If you have never seen a psionic before then you may like this book but you also will find it just weaker than the PHB classes. Over all I was not happy with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as bad as some would have you think.
Review: There have been a lot of complaints about psionics as being magic'd up, weak, ect. Here's my take: Magic'd up? Yes, but it's for the better. The old psionics system of 2e had the most powerful abilities learnable at 1st level, and the powers were completely undetectable. Powers are now broken down into the 10 levels (0-9) that spells are, and the levels for learning them are similar to that of spell casters. To balance the lack of componets, psionics have little side effects or "displays" (glowing eyes, goo apearing) to allow others to notice. Yet psionics still gets some secrecy in that most powers have only one "display" which can be gotten rid of with a feat similar to still/silent spell that increases the effectice level by 1 for each display hidden. Most spells on the other hand, have both a somatic and verbal componet, thus requireing a effective level increase of 2 to get rid of. The other complaint I hear goes like this: Psions are similar to sorcers in how they use powers. But powers like white fire (3rd level, 5d4 damage) are weaker than fireball (3rd level, d6 damage/level). Therefore, the psion class is a weak sorcerer. This is like saying clerics are weak wizards because they lack the strong offensive magic. Clerics make up for this with fighting ability and healing. Likewise, psions make up for their weaknesses with a strong selection of skills and good mind related/information gathering abilities. There is also the matter of different types of powers being keyed to different abilities. This means you can't really have a psion who uses all 6 diciplins, but so what? A psion specialized in 2 areas could do just fine. After all the good stuff I've said, why three stars? Well, I tend to think a good suplement contains more than a well-balanced set of new options. It should have a little something extra to work a interesting charcter or plot thread around. If you feel the 20 some dollars is fair for a expansion of the purely rules section of the core books that gives some interesting options, buy the Psionics Handbook. If you want something more, don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good one
Review: The psionics system in the 3rd Edition is just fantastic. They are now balanced with other classes. The psionic monsters (and the psionic template) are delicious, you can add them to your campaign easy as the monsters in the monster manual. The prestige classes are cool, but there are few of them. The items are great. Umm.... what else.... think its all. Go get your copy now =).
Rating:
Summary: Give Psionics a chance
Review: If I didn't give this book five stars, that might not be entirely Bruce Cordell's fault. I expect that the powers-that-be at Wizards may have a good deal to do with those things in this book to which I most object. I've always liked psionics, though I understood that it was never balanced until now. I like the "flavor." Psionics have an exotic appeal and they throw a suprise at PC's and NPC's alike. Why? because they're different. Because they're rare. This book lays psionics out in a way that's clear and intelligible; as easy to use as magic, because it's essentially the same bag with a different handle. An all Psionic, no magic world would work now like it never would before. Yet, I have my gripes: Dueregar ought to have been presented as psionic monsters, I think. I would love to have seen stats for cranium rats, for urophion, and elder brains, or at least for an Ulitharid. Even Illithid could have been given another treatment. The presentation in the Monster Manual is fine for most, I suppose, but that it screams out "Psionic's is just another kind of magic, and the differences are only cosmetic." But then, maybe they are. That's my next complaint, and the more serious of the two, by far. The book presupposes, unlike any previous version of the psionics rules, that magic and psionics are, at their foundations, the same. That's hooey. If magic and psionics are the same, why include both in the system? I suppose that for those who want a point-based magic system, this fulfills the need, but to me, as I indicated earlier, the value in psionics is in that they are exotic and unknown. To have compromise rules that allow anti-psionics players to use mind flayers or other monsters in their game is fine, but again, the appeal in mind flayers or cranium rats is the unknown. The "Psionics are Different" sidebar is essential, and until I get my hands on Bruce Cordell's If Thoughts Could Kill from Malhavoc Press and Swords and Sorcery Studios, I'll be suspicious of his converting a bunch of wizard spells into psionic powers. All in all, this book is good. It's well conceived, well designed, well written and illustrated. Psionic monsters can be statted out if you have the time, and there are guidelines for running a game with a magic/psionics dichotomy. If you've avoided psionics before because it was overly complex, poorly detailed, jarring, or unbalanced, give it another gander now. All those things have been fixed. While I would like to see Wizards support psionics more, I suppose that in the long run, your rejection of psionics is what keeps it exotic and interesting for me.
|
