Glyph of Warding, Psionic

Metacreativity

Level: Psion 3, Wilder 3

Display: Material and visual

Manifesting Time: 10 minutes

Range: Touch

Target: Object touched of up to 5 sq. ft./level

Duration: Permanent until discharged (D)

Saving Throw: No (object) or yes; see text

Power Resistance: Yes

Power Points: 5

A pale glow issues from a thin tracery of silvery ectoplasm, laid down to entrap those who enter the area.

This powerful inscription harms those who enter, pass, or open the warded area or object. A psionic glyph of warding can guard a bridge or passage, ward a portal, trap a chest or box, and so on.

You set the conditions of the ward. Typically, any creature entering the warded area or opening the warded object without speaking a password (which you set when manifesting the power) is subject to the magic it stores. Alternatively or in addition to a password trigger, glyphs can be set according to physical characteristics (such as height or weight) or creature type, subtype, or kind (such as aberration, drow, or dragon). Glyphs can also be set with respect to good, evil, law, or chaos, or to pass those of your religion. They cannot be set according to class, Hit Dice, or level. Glyphs respond to invisible creatures normally but are not triggered by those who travel past them ethereally. Multiple glyphs cannot be cast on the same area. However, if a cabinet has three drawers, each can be separately warded.

When manifesting the power, you weave a tracery of faintly glowing lines around the warding sigil. A glyph can be placed to conform to any shape up to the limitations of your total square footage. When the power is completed, the glyph and tracery become nearly invisible.

Glyphs cannot be affected or bypassed by such means as physical or magical probing, though they can be dispelled. Mislead, polymorph, and nondetection (and similar magical effects) can fool a glyph, though nonmagical disguises and the like can’t.

Read magic allows you to identify a psionic glyph of warding with a DC 13 Spellcraft check. Identifying the glyph does not discharge it and allows you to know the basic nature of the glyph (version, type of damage caused, what power is stored).

The DM may decide that the exact glyphs available to you depend on your deity. He or she might also make new glyphs available according to the magical research rules.

Note: Magic traps such as psionic glyph of warding are hard to detect and disable. A character with the trapfinding class ability (only) can use the Search skill to find the glyph and Disable Device to thwart it. The DC in each case is 25 + power level, or 28 for glyph of warding.

Depending on the version selected, a glyph either blasts the intruder or activates a power.

Blast Glyph: A blast glyph deals 1d8 points of damage per two manifester levels (maximum 5d8) to the intruder and to all within 5 feet of him or her. This damage is acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic (manifester’s choice, made at time of manifesting). Each creature affected can attempt a Reflex save to take half damage. Power resistance applies against this effect.

Power Glyph: You can store any harmful power of 3rd level or lower that you know. All level-dependent features of the power are based on your manifester level at the time of manifesting the glyph. If the power has a target, it targets the intruder. If the power has an area or an amorphous effect (such as a cloud), the area or effect is centered on the intruder. If the power summons creatures, they appear as close as possible to the intruder and attack. Saving throws and power resistance operate as normal, except that the DC is based on the level of the power stored in the glyph.

Augment: For every 2 additional power points you spend, the power deals an additional 1d10 points of damage. For each additional 2d10 points of damage, the power’s save DC increases by 1.

Source: Complete Psionic, page 90. Descriptive text imported from the referenced glyph of warding spell, altered for use as a psionic power.