Psicrystal with dead master? Also: Point of Improved Psicyrstal?

[deuxhero]

Google isn't getting me anywhere for 3.5 or PF (they might be the same, or DSP's PF update making them creatures with no hitdie might change something). Familiars with dead masters isn't clear either, but they are still animals/vermin (/magical beasts/outsiders/ect) and some PF AP/scenerios apparently have dead familiars retain their new abilities.

Also: What's the deal with improved psicrystal? At odd levels and 20 it's strictly worse than skill focus.

[Flickerdart]

Psicrystals have HD = master's HD. If the master is a corpse (and thus an object), the psicrystal has NaN HD and cannot be a creature either.

There were rules in Tome & Blood for what happens to an orphaned familiar, but 3.0 psionics never got an expansion book, and 3.5 is mum on the issue of both.

Re: Improved Psicrystal, Psicrystals don't cap out at 20 - there's an Epic progression.

[Psyren]

In Pathfinder, both revert over time - the familiar will eventually become a normal creature of its original kind, while the psicrystal will fade and become a rock. Unique circumstances/the GM can override this process of course, or the unexpected can happen for the purposes of a story.

[CIDE]

Arguably the owner of the psicrystal still has HD (granted, greatly reduced) in the afterlife. But going into that great of a stretch is definitely stepping into DM territory.

[Feint's End]

In Pathfinder, both revert over time - the familiar will eventually become a normal creature of its original kind, while the psicrystal will fade and become a rock. Unique circumstances/the GM can override this process of course, or the unexpected can happen for the purposes of a story.

This

Also you are right about improved psi crystal being a trap. It's at most as good as other feats. Pretty worthless overall (well if you want +4 to fort for 2 feats then it's an option but honestly ... who'll do that).

[Jack_Simth]

Google isn't getting me anywhere for 3.5 or PF (they might be the same, or DSP's PF update making them creatures with no hitdie might change something). Familiars with dead masters isn't clear either, but they are still animals/vermin (/magical beasts/outsiders/ect) and some PF AP/scenerios apparently have dead familiars retain their new abilities.
Similar to the question of how to go about replacing a destroyed psicrystal: At best, this question is poorly documented in 3.5 RAW, so it's really a DM question, and so the answer will vary rather widely by table.

However: The Psicrystal does pretty clearly lose most ability to act in about a day. Both Self-propulsion and Flight mention that it takes a standard action from the master to activate, and that those abilities fade within a day.

Depending on whether or not you rule a dead master to still count as present (and have hit dice, and...) the Psicrystal may or may not retain the ability to speak while near it's master's body.

Also: What's the deal with improved psicrystal? At odd levels and 20 it's strictly worse than skill focus.It grants +3 to a chosen skill irrespective of level (not ANY skill, like skill focus, but it's got additional options to boost saves and initiative... oh yes, and it stacks with basically everything). In what sense is that strictly worse than skill focus? Especially at 20th, when it invokes the Epic Psicrystal rules that give it an 8th level power?