Bio-manipulation Paralysis question... please help!

[Johnathan]

Technically that is correct. It works on anything, regardless of what it is, unless they have a specific sort of immunity to bio-manipulation. Even mind block auto-defense only really provides a plus to save. Of course, to MOST greater supernatural/creatures of magics, they are usually at least major psychics (require only a 12 to save), and will usually have M.E. bonuses that boost their saves, along with racial boosts to save. So, in many cases they will not succumb to bio-manipulation.

However, that's the beauty of this power! The downside being that if your mind mage is up against multipe opponents or over a long period of time (several hours of activity in a dungeon for example, facing off against bad guys and freely using bio-manipulation), he is going to quickly run out of I.S.P.

I actually just ran into this problem recently, in a Nightbane game. Our group was infiltrating a top-secret, moth-balled Russian Cold War facility in the middle of Siberia. Him and the other psychic character of the group were throwing out bio-manipulation like it was candy. After the FIRST session down there, they were down to half their I.S.P. or less. It was bad, considering this particular dungeon crawl took... 6 game sessions to complete! And our characters had successfully wasted HALF of their energy wantonly using Bio-Manipulation!

[Damian Magecraft]

I have run into a problem while leading. I have a mind mage in the party that over uses this spell. He proceeds to just paralyze everything and kills it after the battle. Does this just work instantly if the target fails his saving throw? Also what does this spell not effect? I was thinking undead and dragons but what about greater demons and such. Any ideas would be helpful

Use another Mind Mage against him...
or a Necromancer, or even a strong willed (high ME) adversary.
better yet use the same power against him...
Nothing gets a spammers attention faster than being hoisted by his own petard.

[JuliusCreed]

I have run into a problem while leading. I have a mind mage in the party that over uses this spell. He proceeds to just paralyze everything and kills it after the battle. Does this just work instantly if the target fails his saving throw? Also what does this spell not effect? I was thinking undead and dragons but what about greater demons and such. Any ideas would be helpful

According to what I'm seeing, yes it is an instant effect, though I agree with Jim and Jon here... most powerful supernatural creatures such as demons and dragons and the like can get some pretty hefty bonuses to save, both from a high ME and their own racial/species bonuses.
It also states the power affects the fuctions or conditions of "human, animal, and most supernatural life-forms." The key word here is MOST. look through the books and supplements and find some critters that have particularly high resistances or even immunities to Psionics and/or paralysis. Not certain, but aren't True Elementals impervious to paralysis? I mean seriously, how can you paralyze a raging column of fire or a tidal wave.
Also, the ISP cost can be a little prohibitive if he's tossing Bio-Manipulation around like candy at a parade. The cost of 10 ISP per target can make even a Mnd Mage's ISP disappear in a hurry if he really gets rolling with it. Just in case this applies to your situation, the duration listed with Bio-manipulation isn't a measure of how long the Mind Mage can use the power, it's how long the power affects its victim. No offense intended with that. It just seems like a possible interpretation of the written word.
Suggestions for possible counters? The best I can think of would be a really powerful supernatural creature of some kind, but that can get but a little over the top. Try a Changeling Mind Magewith a really high ME. The 10 or better to save vs Psionics plus a hefty Changeling ME bonus could bring it down to 7, 6, or even less. Hit him with his own stuff but instead of paralysis, Blind him. Bio-Manipulation works on line of sight. If he can't see....
Good luck!

[JuliusCreed]

Was just looking through my book and came across an interesting tidbit that brought your question to mind... Zombies!
PFRPG pg 212 Create Zombie Ritual magic; "... Mental assaults by psychics, magic charms, illusions, sleeps, curses, sickness, paralysis, and other similar attacks do no damage..."
Other strengths and weaknesses are detailed, so you might want to try looking into a horde of these undead nasties for your Mind Mage problem. You may also try looking into Mummies (PFRPG pg 210) and golems (PFRPG pg 213)... they all have the same immunities.

Good Luck!

[FriarJohn00]

To add onto what JuliusCreed said, both Gholems and Mannequins are immune to paralysis, as I recall and are very difficult to do in since they can regenerate so quickly. Place them late in the encounter, after the Mind Mage has had a chance to run low on ISP anyways and really let fly.

[t0m]

golems are pretty much immune to everything from what i recall. i also dont see how a true elemental could be effected by bio-manipulation, but i dont remember specifically. it only makes sense though, they are pure energy which can take a physical form by collecting a bunch of dirt/lava etc. there is no 'bio' to manipulate.

[MrShowtime]

Wow... all evil characters is a difficult job sometimes. But i have to say that one of the best defenses against a strong Mind Mage is (My favorite NPC enemy) a Spectre. They are considered a 4th level Mind Mage (which means they have to roll only a 10 to save) and the ME you roll for their attributes is 2D6+20! If that gets you upwards of a 30, that gives your Spectre a +8 on top of that save. So they only have to roll a 2 or higher! What I like the most about the Spectre is it's not overpowered, doesn't have very high HP and makes a great reoccurring enemy.

But as was already said, they only have so many ISP points. If they get used up on a bunch of fodder before the main bad guys(or good guys in your evil group case) He'll have to survive with his hand to hand instead of the psionics.

I play a Mind Mage when I'm not leading. a dwarf mind mage with some good hand to hand abilities and I am able to use my Psionics less than I used to before. Maybe if your guy gets up in level and better without the psionics, your problem will solve itself.

Good topic Jim!

[Veknironth]

Well, the easiest method to stop this is to use something to prevent the Mind mage from being able to see the target. Invisibility, Chameleon spells, Blinding Flash, etc. are all good options. Also, a man with a bow is probably going to be out of the Mind Mage's Bio manipulation range.

-Vek
"Never trust a mind mage."