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The Glyph of Warding is, basically, "deal elemental damage or cast a pre-determinded offensive spell on anyone activating it". The Psionic version of it works almost the same way, except for the way it is cast. I wasn't sure about two things, through.

First - does the power in the Glyph has to be manifested at the same time and included in the power's cost? (It does really matter, especially in a low-level play)

Second, just to clarify - you can store both offensive powers AND spells or spellike abilities in it, right?

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  1. No. The stored spell in a Spell Glyph need only be known. Fortunately, psions and wilders have a Powers Known mechanic (otherwise there could be some confusion as is the case with clerics and druids and their spells known) that explains what constitutes a spell known. That said, the Spell Glyph function of the spell glyph of warding reads

    You can store any harmful spell of 3rd level or lower that you know. All level-dependent features of the spell are based on your caster level at the time of casting the glyph. If the spell has a target, it targets the intruder. [...] Saving throws and spell resistance operate as normal, except that the DC is based on the level of the spell stored in the glyph.

    Thus making a Spell Glyph doesn't require expending any further resources beyond any resources expended to know the spell. Defining the term harmful spell, however, remains the DM's duty.

  2. No. A creature can't store a spell-like ability in a Spell Glyph--be the Spell Glyph the 3rd-level Psion/Wilder power psionic glyph of warding [metacreativity] (CP 90) or the 3rd-level Clr spell glyph of warding [abjur] (PH 236) et al.. There's not even an option anywhere that I'm aware of for storing spell-like abilities--which are neither spells nor powers--in any glyph of warding.

    However, in a reasonably sane game using the rules for Psionic-Magic Transparency (XPH 55), the Spell Glyph function of both the spell glyph of warding and the power psionic glyph of warding should allow appropriate powers and spells to be stored therein. Were it not for those rules, a Spell Glyph psionic glyph of warding would only store spells because of the poor way in which it is presented in Complete Psionic.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't think specific mention need be made of spell or power in psionic glyph of warding, since Magic-Psionic Transparency already says that all spells that affect spells also affect powers and vice versa. Thus, a cleric/psion could store bestow curse in a psionic glyph of warding, rules as written. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Aug 30, 2014 at 13:46
  • \$\begingroup\$ @KRyan As written? There's no way to know. As per the XPH: Some powers reference other powers that they are based upon. Only information in a power later in the power chain that is different from the base power is covered in the power being described. Header entries and other information that are the same as the base power are not repeated. The same holds true for powers that are the equivalents of spells in the Player’s Handbook; typically, only the way the power varies from the spell is noted, such as power point cost" (69). Even transparency doesn't change what a thing says. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Aug 30, 2014 at 13:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ @KRyan I just looked again at the rules for Psionic-Magic Transparency (XPH 55-6), and that seems to back up my answer. I'm happy to be wrong, though. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Aug 30, 2014 at 14:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ “Though not explicitly called out in the spell descriptions or magic item descriptions, spells, spell-like abilities, and magic items that could potentially affect psionics do affect psionics.” You could quibble over the word “affects” and argue that glyph of warding doesn’t “affect” the included spell, but I would not support that. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Aug 30, 2014 at 14:47
  • \$\begingroup\$ @KRyan I'm not a psionics dude--and I'm almost buying what you're selling--, but is there another instance wherein the psionics rules expect the reader to make that same kind of implicit leap? We are talking a power from Complete Psionics, after all. It's allowed to be badly designed. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Aug 30, 2014 at 14:59

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