Rating: 
Summary: Some Cool Developments Here
Review: The text, like the other WotC hardcovers, is handsome, with decent-to-good art all the way through; the cover's graphic design has the added virtue of some brain matter being visible through the "holes" in the simulated leather cover--a nice touch.In terms of content, the text follows the standard format for D&D rulebooks--lists of rules variants, new feats, prestige classes, items, beasties, and so on (2 new gods, to boot). Much of the preliminary text is devoted to rehearsing the debate of whether psionics is different than magic. The standard rule is that magic and psionics overlap--SR applies to psionics & psionic resistance applies to magic, "dispel psionics" works on magic & "dispel magic" works on psionics, and on down the list of potential intersections between the two systems. The variant rule is actually both more interesting and more labor-intensive, as it treats each as mutually exclusive--"dispel psionics" does explicitrly what it says and doesn't affect magic--and vice versa (i.e., as it should be). But after the preliminary sections, this debate is lost, and the rest develops the new 3.5E psionics system with much skill and precision--about 1/3 of the entire text is devoted to descriptions of powers alone. A careful reading of the powers will demonstrate that there are indeed a few things that psionics can do that standard magic can't (barring clever usage of "wish," of course). One reviewer suggests that the old 2E attack and defense modes aren't in the text; au contrare, they have indeed made it into the new system; however, they aren't considered separate psionic powers any longer. Instead, they are standard powers, with point costs--one will find, say, "ego whip" alphabetized with the other powers. On the downside, it is correct to say that much of the psionics flavor from 2E is now gone (isn't this the case with the entire revised game, though?). Old notions like the target power score (which required some die rolling to activate powers, with a chance of botching the roll and producing a humorous and/or deadly backfire) and the maintenance cost for powers that last longer than one round are now gone, sadly. There are other areas worthy of complaint--some specific powers might be badly done ("animal affinity" is now watered down and kind of silly, e.g.) and some creatures are annoyingly rendered (what in the hells did they do to the half-giant?). That said, it is still a very useful text, if one has the energy to add it in--really, shouldn't this system simply be a standard part of the core rulebooks? The updated creatures, for instance, are very good--githyanki/-zerai, illithid, and so on now have their proper psionic repertoire rather than silly spell-like abilities. Generally, the text and its rules are well done & for the most part competent, but with nothing that is standout awesome, as is the case with other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Ker-Bikkity-Blamo!
Review: This book just plain rocks. We run a psionics oriented campaign and frankly, this book has really helped bring psionics into 3.5. It gives cool monsters and wicked feats. The thing I was very happy about was the wild talent feat, giving non-psionic characters a chance in a psionic campaign. People have always poo-pooed rules sets they don't like, but I think this book rules.
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