Pyramid Review
Expanded Psionics Handbook (for Dungeons & Dragons)
Published by Wizards of the Coast
Written by Bruce R. Cordell
Additional design by David Noonan
Edited by Michele Carter, Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Charles Ryan, & Jennifer Clarke Wilkes
Art by Henry Higginbotham, Steven Belledin, Brian Despain, Wayne England, Lars Grant-West, Heather Hudson, Jeremy Jarvis, Chuck Lukacs, David Martin, Monte Moore, Jim Pavelec, Wayne Reynolds, Arnie Swekel, & Sam Wood
224-page full-color hardcover; $34.95
When Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition came out, it stood to reason the Psionics Handbook would be updated to fit. With the rollout of Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 it had to be done again, and it's resulted in the Expanded Psionics Handbook.
It wouldn't be a Dungeons & Dragons book without the usual lineup of extras for characters. There are new psionic classes to make use of all the new directions in which the powers can go. Character classes have a fairly tight focus: There are only a few basic types, though the psion is further subdivided into more groups that concentrate on certain groups of related powers like clairsentience and telepathy. There are also rules for epic-level psis and twice as many prestige classes as there are basic occupations. These are more imaginative, with beings who leave their physical form behind for a life of mental existence, hunters who kill illithids, and the irresistibly heroic Fist of Zuoken. The book takes a more in-depth look at psionic races, too, like the . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 24, 2004
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