asnys
2016-04-10, 11:44 AM
So, I'm a little confused about something (not an unusual state of mind for me).
There seems to be general agreement that the Ectopic Form feats from CPsi are a bad choice because they lock you into particular menu options for your constructs. Thing is, I can't actually find that in the text anywhere. The Ectopic Form feats say that:
Benefit: The astral constructs you create using this feat vary in appearance and talents.
Special: You can gain Ectopic Form multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new form of astral construct. You can only apply one of the following feats to each astral construct you create. When you use this feat, refer to the preconstructed astral constructs of particular kinds on pages 121–128.
In the monsters section, under Astral Construct, it says:
Using the Ectopic Form feat (page 50), a psionic character can create a predefined astral construct with abilities beyond those created using astral construct alone. These preconstructed astral constructs provide characters with ready-made constructs that can be used at a moment’s notice, presuming they’ve taken the Ectopic Form feat. Characters who take the ectopic adept prestige class gain Ectopic Form multiple times as bonus feats, in addition to other enhancements to their astral constructs.
BASIC ASTRAL CONSTRUCTS
The statistics blocks for standard constructs, minus their menu choices as shown on page 185 in Expanded Psionics Handbook, are given below for ease of reference.
The various Ectopic Form constructs are presented following the basic astral constructs. Their statistics blocks are truncated so that they provide only the characteristics that are different from, or in addition to, those of a basic astral construct of a given level.
This doesn't say anywhere that I can see that you can't still use the normal kind of astral construct. It also doesn't say that ectopic form constructs don't also get the usual menu options. Their stat blocks don't include "Menu Choice" as a quality, but neither do the stat blocks for normal astral constructs in CPsi, and the text clearly says they list only the characteristics that are different from, or in addition to, those of a basic astral construct.
So what am I missing?
There seems to be general agreement that the Ectopic Form feats from CPsi are a bad choice because they lock you into particular menu options for your constructs. Thing is, I can't actually find that in the text anywhere. The Ectopic Form feats say that:
Benefit: The astral constructs you create using this feat vary in appearance and talents.
Special: You can gain Ectopic Form multiple times. Each time you take the feat, it applies to a new form of astral construct. You can only apply one of the following feats to each astral construct you create. When you use this feat, refer to the preconstructed astral constructs of particular kinds on pages 121–128.
In the monsters section, under Astral Construct, it says:
Using the Ectopic Form feat (page 50), a psionic character can create a predefined astral construct with abilities beyond those created using astral construct alone. These preconstructed astral constructs provide characters with ready-made constructs that can be used at a moment’s notice, presuming they’ve taken the Ectopic Form feat. Characters who take the ectopic adept prestige class gain Ectopic Form multiple times as bonus feats, in addition to other enhancements to their astral constructs.
BASIC ASTRAL CONSTRUCTS
The statistics blocks for standard constructs, minus their menu choices as shown on page 185 in Expanded Psionics Handbook, are given below for ease of reference.
The various Ectopic Form constructs are presented following the basic astral constructs. Their statistics blocks are truncated so that they provide only the characteristics that are different from, or in addition to, those of a basic astral construct of a given level.
This doesn't say anywhere that I can see that you can't still use the normal kind of astral construct. It also doesn't say that ectopic form constructs don't also get the usual menu options. Their stat blocks don't include "Menu Choice" as a quality, but neither do the stat blocks for normal astral constructs in CPsi, and the text clearly says they list only the characteristics that are different from, or in addition to, those of a basic astral construct.
So what am I missing?