Captnq
2014-01-15, 09:58 PM
D’dimmit.
Quintessence. Alas, it obviously has 1,001 uses. That’s the problem. Here I am with only 47 pages to go and I have to stumble upon one of the most obviously useful things that a psionic user can make.
Crap.
So, I need your help. I need to get the complete list of everything this can do. It’s times like this that I sift through the interweb. Consolidate a great deal of info, core dump it, then call upon the internet to help with the crowd sourcing.
Here it is:
QUINTESSENCE
- EXPANDED PSIONICS HANDBOOK (3.5)
- PSIONICS HANDBOOK (3.0)
Metacreativity (Creation)
Level: Shaper 4
Display: Material; see text
Manifesting Time: 1 round
Range: 0 ft.
Effect: 1-inch-diameter dollop of quintessence; see text
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 7
You collapse a bit of time from the continuum, forming a 1- ounce dollop of thick, gooey material called quintessence. This substance shimmers like a silver mirror when viewed from some angles but is transparent from other viewpoints. You can smooth a dollop of quintessence around any extremely small object, such as a key, a ring, a seal, or an insignia. Objects sealed within quintessence are protected from the effects of time; in practical terms, they enter a state of stasis. Living flesh with only partial contact with quintessence is also partially pulled out of the time stream (the manifester is immune to this effect). This disruption deals 1 point of damage per round beginning 10 rounds after partial contact occurs. Quintessence can be manually scraped away from a protected object, freeing it to rejoin the time stream. When you do this, there is a 75% chance that the quintessence evaporates back into the continuum. Otherwise, it coalesces again into a 1-inch-diameter bead, available for later use. Large quantities of quintessence could theoretically be gathered to preserve large items or structures (or even a complete living creature; if completely immersed, a living creature would not take the damage associated with partial contact). However, psionic characters and creatures are generally loath to do so because accumulations of quintessence weighing 1 pound or more hinder psionic activity within a 5-foot radius of the accumulation: Powers require twice as many power points to manifest, unless the manifester makes a successful Will save each time he or she attempts to manifest a power. Also in these circumstances, manifesting a psi-like ability that is usable at will is a full-round action rather than a standard action.
Here are my rough notes:
This is a very unique power, in that it creates a permanent “item” for no XP. That item is ostensibly the world’s greatest preservative: anything that is completely covered in Quintessence is treated as being outside of the timestream and thus is preserved in the state in which it was in at the time it was covered. The power description says that you can accumulate large amounts of Quintessence, enough to cover an object of any size. There are drawbacks: it takes a long time to accumulate enough to cover anything other than a small object, any accumulated quintessence greater than one pound generates a catapsi effect, and anyone other than the manifester takes damage if they are in contact with Quintessence for more than 1 minute (unless that person is completely covered in it). In a typical campaign, this will limit the usefulness of this power. True, you might be able to cover a dying king with the stuff to “stop the clock” while you adventure for the cure, but building up enough to cover him would take awhile. He might die while you manifest. You might also contemplate selling the stuff, but expect angry customers when one of their kids dies from eating a Quintessence-covered object. Additionally, you could try applying this to objects created with Minor Creation, or get a Wizard friend to drop a few Delayed Blast Fireballs into it for the ultimate bomb. Whether or not the power halts the countdown on the duration of a spell or power, however, is an open question. Therefore, just what kind of effect the Quintessence has, is subject to the whims of the DM. More than any other power, your mileage may vary. The rules on this are a bit fuzzy, but with a bit of ingenuity, this is widely considered one of the most useful powers out there. It's an instantaneous creation effect, so you don't have to worry about it being dispelled. It doesn't damage you on contact, so you can handle it safely. If you can create enough of it, you can use it for hundreds, if not thousands, of useful things. Check out the other threads floating around for more information.
Questions:
If I cover a bag of holding in Quinessence Does it:
1) Stop the bag from working because it no longer can function since it is “out of time”
2) Only stop the bad from aging
3) keep whatever is inside the bad frozen in time as well
What if I have a Sack Full of quintessence and I just shove things in there? Can I keep my Buffs on say, My Magic Sword on “pause” while it is in the sack?
How much quint will I need to toss a medium sized critter into so he can’t escape?
If I take a lich’s phylactery and put it in quintessence, it is now in “stasis”. Being out of time, can a destroyed lich return, or is in a “holding pattern” until the goo is wiped off?
I’m not sure why, but why do people think that spell effects continue to work when this is used on it? Example: I cast continual flame on an object. I dump it in Quintessence. The light shuts off because it’s in “Stasis”. It will resume when I take it out. People seem to think that it continues to shine the whole time it’s in the goo. Can someone explain?
I see examples of people believing you can use magic items coated in the goo. It should be out side of time. I cannot activate a magic item in stasis any more then I can chat with a human in temporal stasis. Or am I wrong?
How much to coat a medium sized critter?, Large? Colossal? Tiny? Etc?
If you scrape off the goo, there is a 75% chance it evaporates. Otherwise, it can be reused. So someone is coated in the Goo. I scrape at it with a nail. 75% chance the good vaporizes, 25% change it bleeds off him and turns into a big silverly ball lying on the ground?
Someone eats quintessence. In my opinion, a digestive tract is in a continous state of “scrape” Therefore, every round, there is a 75% chance the goo evaporates. I cannot see any way the goo remains in his body long enough to harm him. Correct?
I get a glob of Goo. I put it in a sling. I whip it at someone. As I read it, it will start to damage them in 10 rounds, but if they but scratch at it, every round there is a 75% chance it just vanishes. Correct?
I assume it can only affect solid objects. From the description, I cannot see it being a “coating” on air, water, or energy. Correct?
A pipe. If I coat the outside, but not the inside, does it suffer from time damage?
If I must coat the inside of the pipe, does water running through the pipe count as “Scraping”?
Can Objects suffer from time damage?
I have a vat of quintessence. I have a friendly wizard nearby. I drop a stone in the vat. He casts levitate on the rock. Can the rock come up? If he uses a power like Telekinesis, can that fetch the rock from the goo?
It combos well with Psionic Revivify also, for resurrection on the cheap. Grab your buddy's corpse as soon as possible and shove it into the portable hole you filled with the stuff ahead of time. Correct?
A fireball manifests as a small pea-sized object that shoots at the target. If I shoot this small pea-sized object into quintessence, does it enter stasis? Does it explode when I wipe the crap off? How many Pea-sized fireballs can I fit in one ounce of goo?
Repeat question With Orb of X.
If a spell has no physical feature, is there any way to “goo” it? Antimagic field, for example.
Use it to keep food fresh/hot. Always have a good meal on hand, or even sell exotic fare to rich gourmands. Make sure your stash includes some belladonna in case of lycanthrope encounters. At high levels, have the party cleric cast heroes' feast on off days and preserve it so he doesn't have to spend a slot on adventuring days. No problems with keeping hero’s feast lunchables?
Use it to preserve a great person in their prime. If your character is the right sort, you could even have your party cover you in the stuff and start your very own "once and future hero" legend at the end of a campaign. Correct?
Could you coat a sphere of annihilation with Goo?
Use it for super-buffs! Have the wizard and cleric cast every buff they can on you. Hop into a portable hole full of quintessence. They'll rest, prepare entirely new buffs, pull you out and cast them again. Rinse and repeat. Any problems?
I astrally project. I put my body in Goo. Can I move about? My astral projection returns to my body, am I frozen? Just trying to return to my body count as “scraping”? If My Soul is not in my body, do I count as completely “covered?
Can I put a wall of force in quintessence? Does walking into it count as
Lets make it simpler, Riverine which is basically walls of force and water. I coat some of that. Since the object stops “functioning” does it go pop?
Quintessence is a solid object. Solid objects affect incorporeal objects only 50% of the time. If a ghost flies through quintessence, does he have a 50% chance of being put in stasis?
I wander onto the set of Stargate. The stargate is working. I pour quintessence all over it. Does the gate keep working? What is the gate has two ends and both are active? Do I have to goo both ends to freeze the gate? What happens to someone stepping through the gate at that moment?
Is a person in goo now an object? Can I item that object?
Back to the bag full of goo. I put my sword in it. I take it out. To use the sword, I must “scrape” it. Does the entire bag vaporize 75% of the time?
If 1 oz covers a Fine object. Then can we assume that we need…?
Diminutive - 2 oz
Tiny - 4 oz
Small - 8 oz
Medium - 16 oz
Large - 32 oz
Huge - 64 oz
Gargantuan - 128 oz
Colossal - 256 oz
Or Is my math wrong?
I have enough quintessence to coat a summoned critter. Does it stay until scraped?
If I try to move my scraped critter can I? If I made the quintessence, can I safely handle quintessence coated things? If someone else helps me, does it get “scraped” as soon as someone touches it?
I fly my astral construct into quintessence. It no longer is “in time” so I do not have a construct. I summon a new one. I scrape the old one. I can only have one construct. Does one go “pop”? Which one?
Does it automagically coat something? Do I need to slather it on? I hurl a bucket of 16 oz of goo at someone. Does it just flow over then and coat them? Is it a touch attack? Do they get a reflex save? Must they be willing?
Quintessence. Alas, it obviously has 1,001 uses. That’s the problem. Here I am with only 47 pages to go and I have to stumble upon one of the most obviously useful things that a psionic user can make.
Crap.
So, I need your help. I need to get the complete list of everything this can do. It’s times like this that I sift through the interweb. Consolidate a great deal of info, core dump it, then call upon the internet to help with the crowd sourcing.
Here it is:
QUINTESSENCE
- EXPANDED PSIONICS HANDBOOK (3.5)
- PSIONICS HANDBOOK (3.0)
Metacreativity (Creation)
Level: Shaper 4
Display: Material; see text
Manifesting Time: 1 round
Range: 0 ft.
Effect: 1-inch-diameter dollop of quintessence; see text
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Power Resistance: No
Power Points: 7
You collapse a bit of time from the continuum, forming a 1- ounce dollop of thick, gooey material called quintessence. This substance shimmers like a silver mirror when viewed from some angles but is transparent from other viewpoints. You can smooth a dollop of quintessence around any extremely small object, such as a key, a ring, a seal, or an insignia. Objects sealed within quintessence are protected from the effects of time; in practical terms, they enter a state of stasis. Living flesh with only partial contact with quintessence is also partially pulled out of the time stream (the manifester is immune to this effect). This disruption deals 1 point of damage per round beginning 10 rounds after partial contact occurs. Quintessence can be manually scraped away from a protected object, freeing it to rejoin the time stream. When you do this, there is a 75% chance that the quintessence evaporates back into the continuum. Otherwise, it coalesces again into a 1-inch-diameter bead, available for later use. Large quantities of quintessence could theoretically be gathered to preserve large items or structures (or even a complete living creature; if completely immersed, a living creature would not take the damage associated with partial contact). However, psionic characters and creatures are generally loath to do so because accumulations of quintessence weighing 1 pound or more hinder psionic activity within a 5-foot radius of the accumulation: Powers require twice as many power points to manifest, unless the manifester makes a successful Will save each time he or she attempts to manifest a power. Also in these circumstances, manifesting a psi-like ability that is usable at will is a full-round action rather than a standard action.
Here are my rough notes:
This is a very unique power, in that it creates a permanent “item” for no XP. That item is ostensibly the world’s greatest preservative: anything that is completely covered in Quintessence is treated as being outside of the timestream and thus is preserved in the state in which it was in at the time it was covered. The power description says that you can accumulate large amounts of Quintessence, enough to cover an object of any size. There are drawbacks: it takes a long time to accumulate enough to cover anything other than a small object, any accumulated quintessence greater than one pound generates a catapsi effect, and anyone other than the manifester takes damage if they are in contact with Quintessence for more than 1 minute (unless that person is completely covered in it). In a typical campaign, this will limit the usefulness of this power. True, you might be able to cover a dying king with the stuff to “stop the clock” while you adventure for the cure, but building up enough to cover him would take awhile. He might die while you manifest. You might also contemplate selling the stuff, but expect angry customers when one of their kids dies from eating a Quintessence-covered object. Additionally, you could try applying this to objects created with Minor Creation, or get a Wizard friend to drop a few Delayed Blast Fireballs into it for the ultimate bomb. Whether or not the power halts the countdown on the duration of a spell or power, however, is an open question. Therefore, just what kind of effect the Quintessence has, is subject to the whims of the DM. More than any other power, your mileage may vary. The rules on this are a bit fuzzy, but with a bit of ingenuity, this is widely considered one of the most useful powers out there. It's an instantaneous creation effect, so you don't have to worry about it being dispelled. It doesn't damage you on contact, so you can handle it safely. If you can create enough of it, you can use it for hundreds, if not thousands, of useful things. Check out the other threads floating around for more information.
Questions:
If I cover a bag of holding in Quinessence Does it:
1) Stop the bag from working because it no longer can function since it is “out of time”
2) Only stop the bad from aging
3) keep whatever is inside the bad frozen in time as well
What if I have a Sack Full of quintessence and I just shove things in there? Can I keep my Buffs on say, My Magic Sword on “pause” while it is in the sack?
How much quint will I need to toss a medium sized critter into so he can’t escape?
If I take a lich’s phylactery and put it in quintessence, it is now in “stasis”. Being out of time, can a destroyed lich return, or is in a “holding pattern” until the goo is wiped off?
I’m not sure why, but why do people think that spell effects continue to work when this is used on it? Example: I cast continual flame on an object. I dump it in Quintessence. The light shuts off because it’s in “Stasis”. It will resume when I take it out. People seem to think that it continues to shine the whole time it’s in the goo. Can someone explain?
I see examples of people believing you can use magic items coated in the goo. It should be out side of time. I cannot activate a magic item in stasis any more then I can chat with a human in temporal stasis. Or am I wrong?
How much to coat a medium sized critter?, Large? Colossal? Tiny? Etc?
If you scrape off the goo, there is a 75% chance it evaporates. Otherwise, it can be reused. So someone is coated in the Goo. I scrape at it with a nail. 75% chance the good vaporizes, 25% change it bleeds off him and turns into a big silverly ball lying on the ground?
Someone eats quintessence. In my opinion, a digestive tract is in a continous state of “scrape” Therefore, every round, there is a 75% chance the goo evaporates. I cannot see any way the goo remains in his body long enough to harm him. Correct?
I get a glob of Goo. I put it in a sling. I whip it at someone. As I read it, it will start to damage them in 10 rounds, but if they but scratch at it, every round there is a 75% chance it just vanishes. Correct?
I assume it can only affect solid objects. From the description, I cannot see it being a “coating” on air, water, or energy. Correct?
A pipe. If I coat the outside, but not the inside, does it suffer from time damage?
If I must coat the inside of the pipe, does water running through the pipe count as “Scraping”?
Can Objects suffer from time damage?
I have a vat of quintessence. I have a friendly wizard nearby. I drop a stone in the vat. He casts levitate on the rock. Can the rock come up? If he uses a power like Telekinesis, can that fetch the rock from the goo?
It combos well with Psionic Revivify also, for resurrection on the cheap. Grab your buddy's corpse as soon as possible and shove it into the portable hole you filled with the stuff ahead of time. Correct?
A fireball manifests as a small pea-sized object that shoots at the target. If I shoot this small pea-sized object into quintessence, does it enter stasis? Does it explode when I wipe the crap off? How many Pea-sized fireballs can I fit in one ounce of goo?
Repeat question With Orb of X.
If a spell has no physical feature, is there any way to “goo” it? Antimagic field, for example.
Use it to keep food fresh/hot. Always have a good meal on hand, or even sell exotic fare to rich gourmands. Make sure your stash includes some belladonna in case of lycanthrope encounters. At high levels, have the party cleric cast heroes' feast on off days and preserve it so he doesn't have to spend a slot on adventuring days. No problems with keeping hero’s feast lunchables?
Use it to preserve a great person in their prime. If your character is the right sort, you could even have your party cover you in the stuff and start your very own "once and future hero" legend at the end of a campaign. Correct?
Could you coat a sphere of annihilation with Goo?
Use it for super-buffs! Have the wizard and cleric cast every buff they can on you. Hop into a portable hole full of quintessence. They'll rest, prepare entirely new buffs, pull you out and cast them again. Rinse and repeat. Any problems?
I astrally project. I put my body in Goo. Can I move about? My astral projection returns to my body, am I frozen? Just trying to return to my body count as “scraping”? If My Soul is not in my body, do I count as completely “covered?
Can I put a wall of force in quintessence? Does walking into it count as
Lets make it simpler, Riverine which is basically walls of force and water. I coat some of that. Since the object stops “functioning” does it go pop?
Quintessence is a solid object. Solid objects affect incorporeal objects only 50% of the time. If a ghost flies through quintessence, does he have a 50% chance of being put in stasis?
I wander onto the set of Stargate. The stargate is working. I pour quintessence all over it. Does the gate keep working? What is the gate has two ends and both are active? Do I have to goo both ends to freeze the gate? What happens to someone stepping through the gate at that moment?
Is a person in goo now an object? Can I item that object?
Back to the bag full of goo. I put my sword in it. I take it out. To use the sword, I must “scrape” it. Does the entire bag vaporize 75% of the time?
If 1 oz covers a Fine object. Then can we assume that we need…?
Diminutive - 2 oz
Tiny - 4 oz
Small - 8 oz
Medium - 16 oz
Large - 32 oz
Huge - 64 oz
Gargantuan - 128 oz
Colossal - 256 oz
Or Is my math wrong?
I have enough quintessence to coat a summoned critter. Does it stay until scraped?
If I try to move my scraped critter can I? If I made the quintessence, can I safely handle quintessence coated things? If someone else helps me, does it get “scraped” as soon as someone touches it?
I fly my astral construct into quintessence. It no longer is “in time” so I do not have a construct. I summon a new one. I scrape the old one. I can only have one construct. Does one go “pop”? Which one?
Does it automagically coat something? Do I need to slather it on? I hurl a bucket of 16 oz of goo at someone. Does it just flow over then and coat them? Is it a touch attack? Do they get a reflex save? Must they be willing?