Psionic Wurm

[GilesTheCleric]

I'm attempting to improve my pally's Ashworm by adding psionic feats to the worm as it gains bonus HD.

It looks like from the XPH, I can get it from a manifester level of N/A to 5th by taking Hidden Talent (1st), Psicrystal Affinity, Improved Psicrystal (+1), and Overchannel (+3). After taking Psionic Talent x3, I would then have 8 pp to spend, up to 5th level. However, I want to use Expansion to be able to grow by two size categories, and increase the duration from rd/lvl to min/lvl. It seems like I would need a manifester level of 6 to do that.

So, how can I get one additional ML, and is my understanding of how this works correct? I don't really know how psionics works. 3.5 and 3.0 allowed, no drag mag.

If this isn't going to work, I'll probably just go back to using a ring of growth (SS 54) or similar. If anyone has some suggestions on that front (that preferably don't involve custom magic items), I'd really like to hear those.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Expansion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/expansion.htm) costs 1 powerpoint normally, plus 6 extra powerpoints to go up two sizes, plus 2 extra powerpoints to make it 10 minutes/level instead of 1 round/level. That's 9 powerpoints total, which requires a manifester level of 9 because you cannot spend more powerpoints on a power than your manifester level.

Why do you need it to be bigger? It doesn't have Improved Grab or Swallow Whole or similar. Most places where adventuring would be done would not be able to accommodate a huge or bigger creature in the party, so it would only be useful under certain circumstances.

You can use Share Spells to use spells with a target of 'you' on your mount, and you can share any spells you cast on yourself with your mount even if they normally wouldn't affect creatures of its type. For example, you could get access to the Strength domain and use (Lesser Rod of Extended) Enlarge Person on yourself and your mount. If using magic/psionics transparency, you could manifest Expansion yourself and use it on your mount. If your DM allows that to work with spells cast from items, you could retrain into the feat Magical Training to be able to use Eternal Wands (MIC), and get an Eternal Wand of Extended Enlarge Person for 4240 gp, to make yourself and your mount large size for 6 minutes at a time 2/day.

[GilesTheCleric]

Expansion (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/expansion.htm) costs 1 powerpoint normally, plus 6 extra powerpoints to go up two sizes, plus 2 extra powerpoints to make it 10 minutes/level instead of 1 round/level. That's 9 powerpoints total, which requires a manifester level of 9 because you cannot spend more powerpoints on a power than your manifester level.

Okay, that's good to know. So I guess my question then changes to whether I can get from ML 5th to ML 9th somehow. If that's not possible, then just ML 7th for the extra size increase.


Why do you need it to be bigger? It doesn't have Improved Grab or Swallow Whole or similar. Most places where adventuring would be done would not be able to accommodate a huge or bigger creature in the party, so it would only be useful under certain circumstances.
Purely for the intimidation factor. Having a huge wurm is just cool, even if it doesn't provide any benefit. I could grab a purple wurm or dunewinder or some polymorphed creature, but that takes the emphasis off the rider and puts it on the mount, and probably outshines other mundanes in the party.

Having a bigger wurm isn't a problem. My build includes three+ mounts -- the wurm, a large/huge spider, any other vermin I want to train, and whatever flier I want to pick up with Zhentarim Skymage. There's always the ring of shrinking or the shrink collar if I really need them.



You can use Share Spells to use spells with a target of 'you' on your mount, and you can share any spells you cast on yourself with your mount even if they normally wouldn't affect creatures of its type. For example, you could get access to the Strength domain and use (Lesser Rod of Extended) Enlarge Person on yourself and your mount. If using magic/psionics transparency, you could manifest Expansion yourself and use it on your mount. If your DM allows that to work with spells cast from items, you could retrain into the feat Magical Training to be able to use Eternal Wands (MIC), and get an Eternal Wand of Extended Enlarge Person for 4240 gp, to make yourself and your mount large size for 6 minutes at a time 2/day.

My pally has no spellcasting ability, and iirc share spells doesn't work for Sp abilities. I'm not sure about share spells working with triggered/spell completion items. RAW it looks like it works, but it feels wrong.

The paladin build is already set, and isn't going to change for the world (spent six days nailing it down, and it now runs perfectly: no extra skill points until lvl 15, at which point there's nothing to qualify for anymore; and every feat is determinate, except for one pair for which it doesn't matter). The only wiggle room I have is in items (~500k spare gp) and the mount's feats. I could also use Skymage to call to heel something else that can cast spells.

Could I give the wurm levels in cleric?

[Psyren]

Not to be that guy, but Hidden Talent specifies that it does not actually give you a manifester level; you are merely treated as having ML 1 for the purpose of manifesting your chosen power. Your wurm would be ineligible for Psicrystal Affinity if that was its only way of being psionic.

Can you add a template to it? Phrenic template would give it ML = HD.

[GilesTheCleric]

Not to be that guy, but Hidden Talent specifies that it does not actually give you a manifester level; you are merely treated as having ML 1 for the purpose of manifesting your chosen power. Your wurm would be ineligible for Psicrystal Affinity if that was its only way of being psionic.

Can you add a template to it? Phrenic template would give it ML = HD.

Ah, that's too bad.

Phrenic would be perfect, since it gets a ton of HD. I don't think I'm allowed to apply templates to special mounts, though? If it's possible, then this is a very graceful solution.

Edit: I can definitely apply templates to my Skymage mount, though. I get cha+7 before items and 2 levels in Skymage, so that's a 10HD creature.

If I can't manage to make the wurm self-sufficient, then I'll probably go with that route.