Kinetic Control

[anarchy1973]

Hi all, I have been a long time Lurker on the Enworld Boards, but this is my 1st post

I have a question: In 2nd edition Psionics Handbook. there was a power called "Kinetic Control" or "Kinetic Barrier", it is described in R.A. Salvatore's books as a power which Kimmurial Obladra the Drow Psion uses.

Is 2nd Edition open content, & if so can someone repost or paraphrase the power/PP Cost. I had a look at the EPIC (Spell) Version "Kinetic Control" in the Epic Level Handbook, however as this is both 3.0 & Epic I was wondering if anyone has come up with a 3.5 compliant non-epic, non-broken version, or as requested be willing to post or point me to a website that stats the original power ?

I would really appreciate seeing what the original power was like, as long as this doesn't breech any copyright laws.

Cheers.

 

[Arkhandus]

Kinetic Control originates in the Epic Level Handbook for 3rd Edition. There was no such power in 2E psionics, and I don't think there's anything equivalent in 3.0 or 3.5 psionics.

2nd Edition material is not Open Game Content, so I won't go into much detail.

Inertial Barrier is a power in 2E (Psychokinesis discipline, a devotion) and 3E that is similar to what you describe but not quite. It just slows down attacks of various sorts, and softens your impact when falling (and same for any nearby allies). In 2E, it reduces damage from missile attacks but not melee attacks, and slows an enemy for a moment when they enter the area of effect. It also helps against certain special attacks, though it does not specify how well, and slows gasses such that they take longer to enter the area of effect. 3E Inertial Barrier (something like 4th-level IIRC; I think 3.5 makes it 1st-level but changes the effects to just be a copy of Mage Armor in psionic form, really lame in 3.5) instead gives you Damage Reduction and is kinda like a psionic version of Stoneskin, but more utilitarian (the 3.0 version retains the old slowing-down of gasses and reduction of falling damage) at the expense of a lower DR value I think, compared to Stoneskin.


The closest thing to Kinetic Control that I know of is Energy Containment (2E psionic science, aka an advanced power, of the Psychometabolism discipline), the 3E version being Energy Conversion (Energy Adaptation in 3.5), psychometabolic power of 4th or 5th level), which harmlessly absorbs most energy attacks and emits light from the converted energy. There's also a higher-level version in 3E/3.5E, Energy Conversion, which allows you to unleash an energy blast after absorbing some energy attacks.

Also, in 3.5 there's a power called Share Pain, Forced, which transfers half the damage you suffer to an opponent nearby, if they fail their saving throw. It's a 3rd-level psion/wilder power in the Expanded Psionics Handbook.

Similarly, there's Empathic Feedback in 3.5, a 4th-level power (3rd for psychic warriors) that deals 5 damage (or less) to any opponents who strike you in melee combat, each time they strike you so. But you still take full damage from their attacks (EF just causes the opponents to suffer similar harm).

Likewise, there's another 3.5 power (telepath 3, psychic warrior 3) called Empathic Transfer, Hostile. It's a touch attack that transfers up to 50 damage from you to an opponent (that is, damage you've suffered already gets moved to the opponent, removing that damage from your own body). If you spend 6 points to augment the power, it instead affects all foes within 20 feet. Either way there's a Will save involved to let the opponents suffer less damage (transferring less of it from you, basically).

There also powers in 3E/3.5 like Claws of the Vampire and Vampiric Blade, which heal you a bit when you deal damage in melee.

 

[FireLance]

Kinetic Control was a psychokinetic science in the 2e Dark Sun psionic sourcebook The Will And The Way. It essentially allowed a psionicist to remove kinetic energy from an object by touch (from a sword blow or an arrow that hit him, for example), store it within himself, and then bestow it on another object at some point in the future. Essentially, the psionicist absorbs physical damage instead of taking it, and can deal the amount of damage he absorbed to any target he hits in combat. If he ceases to maintain the power while he has energy still stored, he takes 2 points of damage for every point still stored. It's thus quite similar to the 3e epic spell.

Under the 2e psionic system it had an initial cost of 15 pp and a maintenance cost of 7 pp per round. As Arkhandus suggested, a balanced 3e kinetic control would probably work similar to energy conversion (a 7th-level power).

 

[anarchy1973]

Thanks, I was pretty sure I had seen the power somewhere before, not just the EPIC spell version.

Appreciate your help.