Optimizing Glorytongue

[123456789blaaa]

After exploring around a bit, I found this interesting psionic power in an online Wizards article (https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/wn/20020925a):



Glorytongue
Psychometabolism (Str)
Level: Psion 1
Display: Ma
Manifestation Time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Power Points: 1

You gain the ability to stretch your tongue great distances and manipulate it as if it were a true limb.

The tongue is treated as a Diminutive construct with 1/2 HD, hit points equal to half your maximum hit points, AC 13 (+4 size, -1 Dex), Strength 1, Dexterity 8, Con --, Int --, Wis 1, Cha 1. It uses your base attack bonus to touch, grab, or attack, but it does not threaten an area and deals no damage with its attacks. It is fully under your control and can manipulate objects like a tentacle. You can use the glorytongue to deliver touch spells. You can cause it grow (up to 100 feet long) or shrink (to its normal size) as a free action. It does not interfere with spellcasting or speaking. It can be used to make grapple checks, although its weak Strength makes it difficult to actually grapple a creature. It can wind its way up ropes, walls, and other vertical surfaces, and it is strong enough to suspend up to 10 feet of itself free of any supporting surface (to cross a pit, for example).

The end of the tongue is a primitive sensory organ and can see up to 5 feet away with normal vision. (It does not have blindsight, darkvision, or low-light vision). You perceive everything the tongue perceives. Because it is an extension of your tongue, you can use it to taste things, although poisons and harmful effects do not transmit to you through the glorytongue.

If destroyed, all but the original length of tongue that existed before the glorytongue power was used collapses into dust.

Since it has HD, shouldn't it also get feats? I don't see anything indicating that you get to choose the feats but if you can, Hidden Talent (Glorytongue) could be really funny :smallbiggrin:.

Any thoughts on how else to use it?

[Piggy Knowles]

I thought you couldn't get feats if you were Int --.

No immediate abuses come to mind, but I do really like the idea of turning your tongue into a construct...

[Nettlekid]

Well the first thing that comes to mind is either Persisting it (if you have access to 3.0 psionic's or Hyperconscious' Persistent Power metapsionic feat) or getting a continuous item of it. I don't think it gets any feats, because I don't think you get a feat at less than 1 HD. Then again Cats, with 1/2 HD, seem to have a feat, so maybe you do.

Anyway, I'd get longer duration, and buff the Baator out of it. Start with Affinity Field, and get as many stat-boosts and other buffs you can on it. Bonus points if you're in a party with a War Weaver who counts your tongue as part of its Eldritch Tapestry, and so can pass tons of buffs to it quickly. Or maybe you're the War Weaver. Give it Blindsight somehow, or better yet, Telepathy (and see if you can get Mindsight onto it). Get the spell Mental Pinnacle to make your Tongue a powerful Psion. Just...buff it. And then be a tongue warrior, and no, there is no way you can say that that makes it sound not rude.

[Karnith]

I thought you couldn't get feats if you were Int --.
Correct. Per the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#nonabilities):

Any creature that can think, learn, or remember has at least 1 point of Intelligence. A creature with no Intelligence score is mindless, an automaton operating on simple instincts or programmed instructions. It has immunity to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects) and automatically fails Intelligence checks.

Mindless creatures do not gain feats or skills, although they may have bonus feats or racial skill bonuses.
(Emphasis mine)

[Sparkzlight]

Wait what the tongue has charisma

[Karnith]

Wait what the tongue has charisma
If it didn't, it would be an object, not a creature, and hence would be of no use.

EDIT: Check the nonabilities section I linked to earlier for the rules on that.

[Gem]

It's a construct. Could we Polymorph Any Object it to be humanoid and then Awaken it? That'd give it feats.

[123456789blaaa]

Ooh I just thought of some abuse. Use it with abilities that give you benefits for sacrificing creatures (like the BOVD's sacrificing rules).


Correct. Per the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#nonabilities):

(Emphasis mine)

Awww :smallfrown:.

Still, I'm sure there are pleny of ways to give an Int score to a creature. Off the top of my head, you could give it an Int granting item. Not the best solution but it was just an example.


It's a construct. Could we Polymorph Any Object it to be humanoid and then Awaken it? That'd give it feats.

Well we could but what would be the point? It'd just get rid of all the other advantages the tongue has.

[Karnith]

[Y]ou could give it an Int granting item.
Actually, that doesn't work either. An Int: - creature doesn't have an Intelligence score to boost. Per the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#nonabilities):

Some creatures lack certain ability scores. These creatures do not have an ability score of 0—they lack the ability altogether. The modifier for a nonability is +0. Other effects of nonabilities are detailed below.
(Emphasis mine)

[123456789blaaa]

Actually, that doesn't work either. An Int: - creature doesn't have an Intelligence score to boost. Per the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#nonabilities):

(Emphasis mine)

Man this is harder than I thought. Tons of templates that grant an Int score can't be applied to constructs. The ones that I could find that could required the construct to have a humanoid form (same with the Awaken Construct spell. )

Hmmm...

[Gem]

Well we could but what would be the point? It'd just get rid of all the other advantages the tongue has.


How so? Polymorph object wears off after 24 hours, if we persist it. That's plenty of time to cast Awaken, so, when our construct reverts to tounge-shape, it'll have an INT score.

Edit: Forgot you can't persist non-personal spells, my bad. My point stands, though, I'm not saying we should turn it into a human. Just make it humanoid long enough to Awaken it, and then let it revert.

[123456789blaaa]

How so? Polymorph object wears off after 24 hours, if we persist it. That's plenty of time to cast Awaken, so, when our construct reverts to tounge-shape, it'll have an INT score.

Edit: Forgot you can't persist non-personal spells, my bad. My point stands, though, I'm not saying we should turn it into a human. Just make it humanoid long enough to Awaken it, and then let it revert.

Ah okay. I don't see why it wouldn't work but I'll wait for someone more RAW proficient then myself to give a definite answer.

Though a problem that occurs if it does work is that the tongue won't be under your control anymore.

[Spuddles]

Glorytongue

You gain the ability to stretch your tongue great distances and manipulate it as if it were a true limb.


....ew.

[eggynack]

How so? Polymorph object wears off after 24 hours, if we persist it. That's plenty of time to cast Awaken, so, when our construct reverts to tounge-shape, it'll have an INT score.

Edit: Forgot you can't persist non-personal spells, my bad. My point stands, though, I'm not saying we should turn it into a human. Just make it humanoid long enough to Awaken it, and then let it revert.
Couldn't you just use the double polymorph any object tango, and make the effect permanent? That'd bypass any issues you have with duration.

[Flickerdart]

Technically, as a 3.0 power, you can't use this in a 3.5 campaign without the DM updating it.

[Invader]

Technically, as a 3.0 power, you can't use in a 3.5 campaign without the DM updating it.

I thought the official stance was anything 3.0 without errata was usable with 3.5?

[Chronos]

In general, yes, but all of 3.0 psionics was updated and superseded in one swell foop by the Expanded Psionics Handbook.

[Invader]

In general, yes, but all of 3.0 psionics was updated and superseded in one swell foop by the Expanded Psionics Handbook.

Ahh gotcha.

[123456789blaaa]

Glorytongue

You gain the ability to stretch your tongue great distances and manipulate it as if it were a true limb.


....ew.

The power is called Glorytongue man. Heck just read the article in the link that's in the OP. I'm not saying the author was totally winking and nudging the entire time he was writing it but the author was totally winking and nudging the entire time he was writing it.


Technically, as a 3.0 power, you can't use this in a 3.5 campaign without the DM updating it.

As far as I can tell, the only thing you need to change is removing the (Str) after Psychometabolism.

What happens if you cast some spell involving your tongue (Tongue Tendrils, Devils Tongue, and Tongue Serpents from the BOVD for example) and then use Glorytongue? Using Tongue Tendrils and then Glorytongue could be an interesting way to deliver touch spells to enemies that are even farther than 100 ft away.

Heck, use Tongue Tendrils on a friendly (a wild cohort for example) and get some method of scrying them. Congrats you have a mobile Glorytongue.