Does your system still a point cost for the use of psi?
Yes. All costs for usage remain the same.
How does range factor into the DC?
It doesn't. Range affects cost for usage.
What about Natural Talent? Should this provide a reduced DC when using that particular Talent?
Why? It gives a +2 bonus to the skill check, so it makes the roll easier that way. Why should it also lower the DC? Skill Focus doesn't.
It only grants a +2 on a skill check, which is what Natural Talent does. (Read the description, if you don't believe me. NT also gives you +2 to your PSI score, which is pretty awesome for one feat.)
D20 uses FEATS as well as DC's, so it would be unfair to the system to drop the need for FEATS completely out of the Psionics system.
Then don't use this alternate system.
I won't be upset, and your game will be more "by the book". No worries, my friend.
PSI is an ability score, its listed right there on the Character sheet, to change that would require the character sheet to be changed as well.
Actually, look at the specific page mentioned (THB, pg 188), lefthand column, roughly third paragraph, the one in italics. It states specifically that PSI is not an ability score. It is listed among the ability scores because CT used to do the same thing (list PSI right after the six stats in the UPP), and T20 uses many CT conventions.
This of course follows along with the MT system, so I can understand where you are coming from on this. I don't agree though that PSI cannot be treated as an ability.
I originally let PSI be treated as an ability, but when I looked at MT for an idea about changing the Psionics system, I found that they didn't use it. Instead, they used INT, so I went with that for my suggestions.
Why use INT as the ability score for the Psionic talent skills?
Because MT was the inspiration for this suggested change.
Doesn't it make more sense to use WIS Being smart doesn't make it easier to use an ability which is 'natural' to you, whilst having an innate knowledge of your ability and the world around you - WIS - would be more beneficial. Ultimately, though, if PSI were to remain an ability score, then it would serve well to add to 'sphere' skills.
Good points, all, but they're not true to the source of inspiration for this suggested change. That doesn't mean you can't use either WIS or PSI for your games.
I like the simple method of using a base DC of 13, however wouldn't 15 seem more natural, or 10?
Skill totals max out at CLASS LEVEL + 3 ranks, if they are class skills, and I was looking at a base 10, plus the 3, and let the ranks for talents carry themselves through on a one-for-one basis.
Maybe you could have the Natural Talent reduce the base DC from 15, to 13?
Why? Natural Talent gives you a +2 on your skill check. See above notation.
Hobby as a means to gain Psionic Spheres as 'class' skills is still debatable.
Everything's debatable.
Seriously, that depends on what you want from your game. I don't think it's debatable, since psionics is portrayed as a hobby pursuit in T4 and in the rough drafts of T5.
Perhaps a better suggestion is to allow the character to gain the higher 'FEATS' of "[sphere] Expertise", where by each sphere's feat will allow it to be treated as a 'class' skill, and perhaps reduce the DC of its use?
So you want to create a new skill that does exactly what Hobby does, and combine it with exactly what Natural Talent does, to get one feat that gives you the bonuses of two feats? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Thanks, everyone, for the comments so far.
Enjoy,
Flynn
