Power pentration vs spell penetration

[Scion]

There have been a couple of different threads which have touched on this matter to one degree or another.. I figured that I would make a thread that was devoted to talking about them.

Hopefully without any flames and whatnot that went along with some of the others.

Now, each of the feats:

SPELL PENETRATION [GENERAL]
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on caster level checks (1d20 + caster level) made to overcome a creature’s spell resistance.

GREATER SPELL PENETRATION [GENERAL]
Prerequisite: Spell Penetration.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on caster level checks (1d20 + caster level) made to overcome a creature’s spell resistance. This bonus stacks with the one from Spell Penetration.

POWER PENETRATION [PSIONIC]
Your powers are especially potent, breaking through power resistance more readily than normal.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must expend your psionic focus. You get a +4 bonus on manifester level checks made to overcome a creature’s power resistance.

GREATER POWER PENETRATION [PSIONIC]
Your powers are especially potent at breaking through power resistance.
Prerequisite: Power Penetration.
Benefit: To use this feat, you must expend your psionic
focus (see the Concentration skill description, page 37).
You get a +8 bonus on manifester level checks to
overcome a creatures power resistance. This bonus
overlaps with the bonus from Power Penetration (see
page 49).

So, at its base the spell versions give +2 or +4 whereas the power versions give +4 or +8.

But the power version requires expending focus, which is a huge limiting factor.

As focus is so important here I guess I should post the rules for it as well:

Gain Psionic Focus: Merely holding a reservoir of psionic power points in mind gives psionic characters a special energy. Psionic characters can put that energy to work without actually paying a power point cost—they can become psionically focused as a special use of the Concentration skill.
If you have 1 or more power points available, you can meditate to attempt to become psionically focused. The DC to become psionically focused is 20. Meditating is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. When you are psionically focused, you can expend your focus on any single Concentration check you make thereafter. When you expend your focus in this manner, your Concentration check is treated as if you rolled a 15. It’s like taking 10, except that the number you add to your Concentration modifier is 15. You can also expend your focus to gain the benefit of a psionic feat—many psionic feats are activated in this way.
Once you are psionically focused, you remain focused until you expend your focus, become unconscious, or go to sleep (or enter a meditative trance, in the case of elans), or until your power point reserve drops to 0.

Now, for me, I would much rather have the always on version that I do not have to expend further resources on to use, but others feel differently.

What sort of arguements do people have for either side?

 

[Thanee]

I would also prefer the spellcasting version, and if I would play with psionics, I would house rule the psionic penetration feats to work similar to them (that is... +2/+4 and they apply whenever you are psionically focused when you begin manifesting).

The psionic version isn't really weaker. +4/+8 is a pretty cool bonus, if you need it, but being able to spend the focus on something else seems more useful in general.

Bye
Thanee

 

[KarinsDad]

I agree with Thanee.

It should be +2 / +4 when you are Psionically Focused.

Nothing in the game gives +8 except bonuses to skills via magic items.

If WotC ever puts out a Complete Psionics book, there will probably be ways to take serious advantage of this large number.