Psicrystal without Feat Leech

[GreenETC]

In an upcoming campaign, which will be Eberron flavored, I am planning on being a Psiforged Psion (Shaper)/Crystal Master. Of course, this leaves me with a Psicrystal to help give me Craft boosts and the like. However, being a Warforged means my Wis is going to be crap, so Feat Leech doesn't seem like the right option to me in terms of what to do with the thing, but I have found it hard to find ideas for Psicrystals beyond Feat Leeching to infinity.

So Playground, what feats should I stick on the rock? My current idea is Wild Talent and Psionic Talent forever, having the Psicrystal dump its PP into my Psiforged Body, so I can get a marginal bonus to my PP/day, but I'm sure there's something better I can do.

[Marnath]

If it's going to be subpar, can't you just not take Psicrystal Affinity and get a better feat? Or do you actually need to get it for your build?

[Psyren]

Even leeching one feat from your crystal is worthwhile, and you always get one (of your choice!) regardless of Wis. A free feat for a spell is definitely worth it - this is the reason Heroics is so broken, and psionic feats are even better than fighter feats.

[Rubik]

If it's going to be subpar, can't you just not take Psicrystal Affinity and get a better feat? Or do you actually need to get it for your build?Crystal master requires you to have Psicrystal Affinity.

Really, psicrystals are incredibly useful -- more so than any familiar I've seen. Share Pain and Vigor both shared with your psicrystal effectively doubles the number of temporary pp you get, since you take half damage and your psicrystal takes the other half -- and it chews through both your temp hp pools at half-rate (minus the hardness 8 that your psicrystal has).

Psicrystals are telepathic at later levels, and it's not language-dependent or even mind-affecting, meaning your little crystalline buddy is now a universal translator. It also doesn't sleep, eat, or breathe, which means it can keep watch for you at night while you repair yourself, or scout underwater for you. If your party splits up for whatever reason (such as the rogue, factotum, or rogue/factotum runs ahead to scout) you can send your psicrystal with the other portion of the party to keep communication lines open.

You can share various powers (such as Metamorphosis and Energy Conversion) with it to double your output of pain on your enemy. A nice way to go about blasting is to share Energy Conversion, charge both of you up with an Energy Wall, then share Metamorphosis and Schism with your psicrystal. You now have (effectively) four creatures blasting away with 3 x your manifester level energy damage. Definitely not a bad way to do it, especially if you add in things like Split Psionic Ray and Chain Power.

Psicrystals have all sorts of wonderful uses, if you think outside the box a bit. They're a lot more useful than familiars, for sure, and are a helluvalot more durable.

[TuggyNE]

Can you stuff Mindsight on a psicrystal?

[Rubik]

Can you stuff Mindsight on a psicrystal?It IS telepathy, even if it's not marked as such. Ask your DM. You can toss Life Sense on it, though.

[edit] Check out the Control Body power. Use Solicit Psicrystal and have your psicrystal take over your concentration. Have it move your body around while you manifest your powers.

[GreenETC]

Can you stuff Mindsight on a psicrystal?
This will be pending, since the DM is only allowing certain books and I have to run stuff by him if I wanna use something from outside the Core/Completes(minus psionics)/ToB/M'sE/Eberron.

[edit] Check out the Control Body power. Use Solicit Psicrystal and have your psicrystal take over your concentration. Have it move your body around while you manifest your powers.
Damn, that's cool.

[Renen]

Inb4 white raven tactics on psicrystal

[Flickerdart]

Inb4 white raven tactics on psicrystal
Ooh, that's a really good point - if you don't need to stick to psionic feats, you can slap all those feat-supported systems on your crystal. Binder crystal? Initiator crystal? Incarnum crystal?

[GreenETC]

Ooh, that's a really good point - if you don't need to stick to psionic feats, you can slap all those feat-supported systems on your crystal. Binder crystal? Initiator crystal? Incarnum crystal?
Yes, I could always go for that, but I have no idea what would even be worth shoving on it. Maneuvers always seemed weird, considering most ToB maneuvers require melee attacks, as well as the 1/2 Initiator thing meaning I could only get good ones like WRT at level 12.

I know a little bit about Incarnum, but I can't think of any useful ones, especially with that lack of Con. I'm also not intimately familiar with Binders, so any suggestions with that direction?

[Flickerdart]

Yes, I could always go for that, but I have no idea what would even be worth shoving on it. Maneuvers always seemed weird, considering most ToB maneuvers require melee attacks, as well as the 1/2 Initiator thing meaning I could only get good ones like WRT at level 12.

I know a little bit about Incarnum, but I can't think of any useful ones, especially with that lack of Con. I'm also not intimately familiar with Binders, so any suggestions with that direction?
Good point about incarnum needing Con, I forgot that was a thing. For binders though, the cost is minimal - because it can't take levels, all you can do is take Bind Vestige, Practiced Binder, and Improved Bind Vestige, which gives it one bind of up to 3rd level, and two abilities from that bind. A couple of ones you might find useful:
Amon: Natural attack
Andromailus: Skill bonuses and permanent seeing invisible are nice
Aym: Fire resist and breaking stuff (if it has a way to attack)
Karsus: Detect magic
Leraje: Hide bonus, good if you like sneaking around with your rock
Malphas: Bird's eye sight is an awesome ability; give your pet a pet!
Ronove: Feather fall, faster movement
Savnok: Armour for your crystal? You bet.

So Andromalius and Malphas are probably the best ones to take.

[Psyren]

Binding might be tough too because the crystal has to draw the seal and speak verbally to call the vestige, and you aren't allowed to help it. Trying to change its form with a shared metamorphosis or even handing it a power stone to UMD might count as help; certainly trying to draw the seal for it or speak on its behalf would too.

I would probably just stick with psionic/ToB feats on it.

[Rubik]

Binding might be tough too because the crystal has to draw the seal and speak verbally to call the vestige, and you aren't allowed to help it. Trying to change its form with a shared metamorphosis or even handing it a power stone to UMD might count as help; certainly trying to draw the seal for it or speak on its behalf would too.

I would probably just stick with psionic/ToB feats on it.Psicrystals can actually speak one language of its master's choice, though it can understand as many as its Int score allows, and can communicate telepathically without bothering with language. It also has spidery prehensile appendages it can draw with.

But yes, psionic and ToB feats are the way to go, generally. But don't forget Darkstalker and Life Sense! And possibly Mindsight, if it's allowed.

[Psyren]

Psicrystals can actually speak one language of its master's choice, though it can understand as many as its Int score allows, and can communicate telepathically without bothering with language. It also has spidery prehensile appendages it can draw with.

I see nowhere that says psicrystals can speak out loud. They have telepathic speech, but that is not sufficient for binding - you need an actual voice to call out to a vestige.

Drawing with its appendages would require a soft surface like dirt or sand. The psicrystal wouldn't be able to do this in a dungeon for instance (stone floor), in grass, on the deck of a ship etc.

[Rubik]

I see nowhere that says psicrystals can speak out loud. They have telepathic speech, but that is not sufficient for binding - you need an actual voice to call out to a vestige.According to the psicrystal entry (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psion.htm#psicrystals) (not the monster entry):

"A psicrystal can speak one language of its owner’s choice (so long as it is a language the owner knows). A psicrystal can understand all other languages known by its owner, but cannot speak them. This is a supernatural ability."


Drawing with its appendages would require a soft surface like dirt or sand. The psicrystal wouldn't be able to do this in a dungeon for instance (stone floor), in grass, on the deck of a ship etc.To mangle an old axiom: "Chalk is cheap."

[Psyren]

According to the psicrystal entry (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psion.htm#psicrystals) (not the monster entry):

"A psicrystal can speak one language of its owner’s choice (so long as it is a language the owner knows). A psicrystal can understand all other languages known by its owner, but cannot speak them. This is a supernatural ability."

I saw that, and assumed it was related to their telepathic speech, but you might be right.



To mangle an old axiom: "Chalk is cheap."

And you tie it to the legs with little rubber bands I assume :smalltongue:

[The Glyphstone]

Pour some ink into a dish, let the psicrystal dip its leg in the ink?

[Rubik]

I saw that, and assumed it was related to their telepathic speech, but you might be right.It's not under telepathic speech, so it's a separate ability.


And you tie it to the legs with little rubber bands I assume :smalltongue:If the psicrystal can adhere to a wall using its spidery feet, I can't see the same not working with smaller objects.

[Psyren]

Pour some ink into a dish, let the psicrystal dip its leg in the ink?

That would arguably qualify as helping it.



If the psicrystal can adhere to a wall using its spidery feet, I can't see the same not working with smaller objects.

Maybe. Though following that logic, spider climb should give you a bonus vs. disarm, or to maintain a grapple.

[Flickerdart]

Does a psicrystal have the correct slot to wield a Hand of the Mage?

[Rubik]

Does a psicrystal have the correct slot to wield a Hand of the Mage?Those are only 900 gp; for 1800 gp you could make it slotless easily enough.

[The Glyphstone]

That would arguably qualify as helping it.


If you push it that far, though, even a normal binder couldn't use any ink he didn't grind and make himself, or draw seals on any paper/parchment he didn't craft himself, because the shopkeeper 'helped' him by selling him the materials. Pushed to absurdity, you could only draw seals in the dirt with a finger using your own blood (that you drew with your own teeth or fingernails), or else you've gotten 'help' from a plant or animal or person who supplied your materials. There's got to be a line drawn somewhere.

Besides....the line about doing it alone is in the paragraph about making the actual pact, and Binding check. Only a binder knows how to make the seal, so non-binders couldn't help, but there is strictly nothing in the rules for Soul Binding that prevents a non-Binder, or even another Binder, from sharing their materials or supplies.



"You must make your perilous pact alone. Others cannot aid you in any way."


The drawing of the seal and the making of the pact have a clear distinction drawn between them in the writeup, two consective steps in the Soul Binding.

[Psyren]

If you push it that far, though, even a normal binder couldn't use any ink he didn't grind and make himself, or draw seals on any paper/parchment he didn't craft himself, because the shopkeeper 'helped' him by selling him the materials.

You leapfrogged a bit past me there. If the psicrystal could purchase, transport and employ the ink on its own that wouldn't be an issue. But needing someone to do those three things on its behalf would be a problem (for me anyway.)

I agree there needs to be a line and I think pouring out the ink for someone that has no hands, or calling the vestige for them, is over it. But ultimately this is a DM call.

[Azoth]

I am a fan of (if your Psicrystal gets stat points for its HD) Hidden Talent (good 1st level power), Psionic Talent, Over channel. It lets the crystal throw out a useful power upto 4/day indepent of yout actions. A personal favorite power is Control Light. With Overchannel it affects 18 10ft cubes for upto 3 minutes.

[Renen]

I agree with Glyph. I think it only means they cant get help with "making the pact", so no assist rolls and the such. But I think it's perfectly fine to give them ink and such.

In the end "no helping" is fluff. And it would be kinda hard to explain fluff-wise why the vestige wont get bound if you give someone some ink. But it WOULD make sense he wont get bound (properly, since you cant actually fail a binding), if someone gives tips to the binder on how to do it, since they have no idea wtf they are talking about.