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View Full Version : A question about a power... (3.5)



The-Mage-King
2010-12-24, 10:24 AM
Now, I had an idea that I need to get the general opinion of the forum on.

Suppose a sufficently powerful being managed to obtain several mind flayer larva. If he were to use Mind Switch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/mindSwitch.htm), voluntarally lowered to ML 1 to reduce the duration, on another humanoid and start the process of the mind flayer being born, then used some method to go ahead the ~week needed after almost 10 minutes, what would happen?

Would he die upon arrival? Or would he find himself in control of a mind flayer body?

Fishy
2010-12-24, 10:34 AM
If one participant’s body becomes petrified, imprisoned by temporal stasis or imprisonment, or incapacitated in some other way, the other participant will be incapacitated in that way when the power ends.

So, it depends on whether or not 'Having your body consumed and mind overwritten by an illithid' counts as 'incapacitated'.

I think this is one of those Iron Heart Surge discussions.

The-Mage-King
2010-12-24, 10:37 AM
That's what I thought as well, but the idea of an Psion taking over the body of a mind flayer like this was to important to leave without asking the boards.

The-Mage-King
2011-01-07, 07:17 AM
Anyone else have something to chip in?

Flickerdart
2011-01-07, 09:37 AM
You cannot do that - ML1 means you can only spend one power point, and Mind Switch costs significantly more.

The-Mage-King
2011-01-07, 09:43 AM
You cannot do that - ML1 means you can only spend one power point, and Mind Switch costs significantly more.

...I feel stupid now. Anyway, I reread the power and found that it says the manifester can deactivate it at any time, so that doesn't matter.


Are there any other flaws in this theory?

FelixG
2011-01-07, 09:43 AM
You cannot do that - ML1 means you can only spend one power point, and Mind Switch costs significantly more.

Cant you lower your manifested level just for duration sake? I would figure someone could have some degree of control over that sort of thing.

Yora
2011-01-07, 09:45 AM
I don't understand what you're trying to do. You mind switch with someone and then one person gets a mind flayer larva. And I think something about speeding up the transformation.
What's the goal of that?

FelixG
2011-01-07, 09:48 AM
I don't understand what you're trying to do. You mind switch with someone and then one person gets a mind flayer larva. And I think something about speeding up the transformation.
What's the goal of that?

I think the goal is to transfer away from your body, let the mindflayer larva take over your now useless body, then have your consciousness jump back to the now mindflayerd body to overwrite its mind and gain the abilities of said mindflayer

The-Mage-King
2011-01-07, 09:49 AM
Prehaps I wasn't clear enough- you start the process on your body, turning it into a mind flayer, then hop forwards in time to after it finishes taking over and resume control of yyour original body (now a mind flayer body).

The point is to get a human a mind flayer body, but his original mind.


EDIT: EXACTLY!

Psyren
2011-01-07, 09:50 AM
Suppose a sufficently powerful being managed to obtain several mind flayer larva. If he were to use Mind Switch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/mindSwitch.htm), voluntarally lowered to ML 1 to reduce the duration

Okay, let's start here - you can't do that. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicPowersOverview.htm#manifesterLevel)


Manifester Level
...
You can manifest a power at a lower manifester level than normal, but the manifester level must be high enough for you to manifest the power in question, and all level-dependent features must be based on the same manifester level.


Note that this is identical to the "lower caster level" rules language used in the PHB.

Because Mind Switch is Telepath 6, that means the lowest possible ML you can manifest it at is 11. (11/2 = 5.5 = 6.) No 10 minute Mind Switch for you unless you forcibly dispel it.

Second, you would be dead. Ceremorphosis kills the host (his mind is completely replaced, not combined with the mind flayer in any way), therefore the brain you switched with would die.


Over a period of several days, the tadpole burrows into the host brain, consuming gray matter and gaining body mass in a nearly equal ratio. When the process is complete, the victim’s brain is completely replaced by the tadpole’s bloated tissue. The tadpole is neurologically melded onto what remains of the lower brain stem and assumes complete control of the body’s nervous system. The victim dies irrevocably, but the body lives on with a parasite serving as its brain.

There is no longer a mind left for you to switch back with, which brings us back to this clause of Mind Switch:


If either body is killed while the power is in effect, the other participant also dies when the power ends.

If you want to ride around in a Mind Flayer's brain, you need to mind switch with the flayer AFTER Ceremorphosis, when you are switching with his own mind. And even then, you will need either True Mind Switch or the Psionic Sandwich trick to make it permanent.

Yora
2011-01-07, 09:51 AM
If you want to be a mind flayer, there's probably a much easier way.
Also, you end up with that awful LA. It really sucks for all casters, psions included.

FelixG
2011-01-07, 09:52 AM
If you want to ride around in a Mind Flayer's brain, you need to mind switch with the flayer AFTER Ceremorphosis, when you are switching with his own mind. And even then, you will need either True Mind Switch or the Psionic Sandwich trick to make it permanent.

Or: you could just become a Psionic Sandwich.... :smallbiggrin:

Psyren
2011-01-07, 09:54 AM
Or: you could just become a Psionic Sandwich.... :smallbiggrin:

Reread the end of the passage you quoted :smalltongue:

FelixG
2011-01-07, 10:42 AM
Reread the end of the passage you quoted :smalltongue:

Oh I know, I am just saying...why be a mindflayer when you can be a sandvich?

The-Mage-King
2011-01-07, 10:58 AM
Oh I know, I am just saying...why be a mindflayer when you can be a sandvich?

Because you want to make Voidmind minions?

Flickerdart
2011-01-07, 11:04 AM
Because you want to make Voidmind minions?
It is much better to make sandvich-mind minions instead. Entire mind flayer species is babies! :smallamused:

The-Mage-King
2011-01-07, 11:37 AM
It is much better to make sandvich-mind minions instead. Entire mind flayer species is babies! :smallamused:

Ah, but with voidmind, you ca-ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL.