[3.P] Quintessence Jar

[Hylas]

Quintessence for 3.5 (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/quintessence.htm)
Quintessence for Pathfinder (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/psionic-powers/q/quintessence)

Now I've never played a psionic before nor have I been in a group with one, but I'm wondering what would happen if you took a jar and smothered the outside of it with quintessence. Then you'd simply place whatever you want inside the jar (for example, a frog, or a thug you polymorphed into a frog). What happens?

Off the top of my head a few things could happen:
1. Nothing happens because the quintessence needs to be touching the frog.
2. The frog is frozen in time because it's trapped in the "time bubble." The spell lasts until the frog is removed from the jar.
3. The frog stops aging, getting hungry, needing sleep, etc, but can otherwise see time passing around it without being affected. The spell duration is also frozen in time.

The problem with 1 is that a quintessence trap (I looked at this thread first (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75133)) would lose effectiveness because clothes and armor could block a good deal of the paste.

The problem with 2 is that rowdy adventurers could smear it on an inn in the middle of nowhere to freeze the occupants inside. Not to mention that sticking your hand in the jar isn't a good idea.

The problem with 3 is that it doesn't make sense unless quintessence doesn't prevent you from moving, which conflicts with the "stasis" part of the description.

So if your players did this, what would you rule would happen?

[Cor1]

Well, you'd need a ridiculous amount of power points to pull off the "Quintessence Tavern" trick. Moreover, the Psion should drop the Quintessence into an extradimensional container, lest he has to start making DC 16 Will saves to manifest anything while near the quintessence. (Yeah, easy, but even with a +17 in your good save, you still fail 5% of every time.) It only makes you need to spend twice the normal amount of power points to manifest anything, though, so with what you're trying to do, it's just adding 5% more in time costs.

As for how it'd work... I always figured that Quintessence would stop time for things that are in direct contact with it, but even then, the stuff is still effectively trapped in a timefree bubble.

My answer is "Probably does what you want, and can be argued to".

I love playing Psions. So much.

[Darth Stabber]

I do believe that technically option 1 would be the correct, but as a gm I would rule option 2.

I have always thought that this power was underused, it has so many applications for those who can apply it intelligently. I had a psion who would punish those who angered him too much would find themselves interred in his bag of holding filled with quintessence. Doomed to effective oblivion until the end of all magic.

[Hylas]

Thanks for your input, guys.