A question about Psicrystals and Crystallized Creatures...

[inuyasha]

I was looking through some material today coming up with some ideas for future NPCs when I stumbled on the Psionics Augmented book about Psicrystals, the one with Crytallized Creatures as an option-- burning a feat to make your Psicrystal more like an animal companion or a familiar. I've searched through some FAQs and haven't been able to figure something out though...

Depending on your level, you can pick animals of a certain size that are available as Animal Companions as base forms for your Psicrystal. What I'm not sure about though is what stats I should use for these creatures... are you supposed to use the monster write-ups for them, or the stats that Druids use when they have the animal as a companion. And if the second is the case, do they scale in any way like Animal Companions do?

Considering that there are other creatures available, things like elementals and iron cobras, things that aren't available as Druid companions, I'm not sure which set of stats to use if I use an animal, something like an ape, boar, wolf, etcetera.

Also sorry about making two Psionics related threads in one day. I'll stop spamming, haha.

[upho]

Since the rules only mention "the animal companion list" and says nothing of using stats other than those of the creatures on that list, it seems clear you're supposed to use the AC stats, not those in a creature's monster entry. IOW: the original monster version of a say a warcat is actually not on the AC list, only the AC version of the warcat is. (And in the case of many big animals, like the warcat, the monster versions are often Huge or larger, meaning none of them would even be an option for crystallized creature even though their Large sized 7th level AC versions are.)

[TiaC]

Hm, I would go the opposite direction, because there are a bunch of options for Crystallized Creatures that aren't animal companions. If you pick an Iron Cobra, it has to use the bestiary stats, so for consistency, I would say to use the Bestiary stats for everything. Also, animal companions stats with an undefined Druid level don't really work. It says to use Psicrystal saves and hit points, but nothing about HD, BAB, Skills and Feats which become undefined if you don't have an effective Druid level. I don't consider the presence of monsters like the Warcat on the AC list to be a problem, they just aren't valid choices for a Crystallized Creature. It's not a well-written ability.

[Ramza00]

I feel in love with the idea of a crystallized creature but I have never used it for it looks poorly written and confusing. Woe but that sometimes happens in 1st and 3rd party.

[inuyasha]

For the HP, Saves, BaB, etcetera, it doesn't say anything about changing the Psycrystal due to an effective druid level, so I guess it would be, for skills, saves, and such, the same as the caster, and half of the Caster's HP.

It is a bit of a funky ability in terms of how it's written, but gosh it's so much fun. I love the idea of a Wilder with a big crystal gorilla, or a psionic lizardfolk shaman with an emerald alligator. I think I might end up going with the Druid's Animal Companion stats for the creatures after all, as I've looked over the past few days at the feat chain that allows people to get an Animal Companion as a non-Druid and it seems fair in comparison. The Crystallized Creature scales better to fit your level, but both feat chains require a 3-feat investment, and the Psicrystal one [which in some ways is better because of what Psicrystals allow you to do] only scales with Manifester level as opposed to the other feat chain that scales with all your levels together. Not a huge difference but it feels noteworthy.

That's also a really good point for the Warcat, which I forgot about completely. A similar point could be made about the Roc and several dinosaurs.

[upho]

Hm, I would go the opposite direction, because there are a bunch of options for Crystallized Creatures that aren't animal companions. If you pick an Iron Cobra, it has to use the bestiary stats, so for consistency, I would say to use the Bestiary stats for everything.But this doesn't seem consistent in terms of the results, but frankly absurd. I mean, how is a CR 2 Iron Cobra supposed to match a CR 8 dire tiger?


Also, animal companions stats with an undefined Druid level don't really work. It says to use Psicrystal saves and hit points, but nothing about HD, BAB, Skills and Feats which become undefined if you don't have an effective Druid level. I don't consider the presence of monsters like the Warcat on the AC list to be a problem, they just aren't valid choices for a Crystallized Creature.AFAICT, what inuyasha wrote is RAW:
For the HP, Saves, BaB, etcetera, it doesn't say anything about changing the Psycrystal due to an effective druid level, so I guess it would be, for skills, saves, and such, the same as the caster, and half of the Caster's HP.This. The only thing you get from the druid AC are the base stats (including 7th level advancement in the case of Large ACs).


It's not a well-written ability.I kinda agree, as while it actually does seem to have all the info needed, it's far from immediately obvious and easily misunderstood without some very careful reading.


It is a bit of a funky ability in terms of how it's written, but gosh it's so much fun. I love the idea of a Wilder with a big crystal gorilla, or a psionic lizardfolk shaman with an emerald alligator. I think I might end up going with the Druid's Animal Companion stats for the creatures after all, as I've looked over the past few days at the feat chain that allows people to get an Animal Companion as a non-Druid and it seems fair in comparison. The Crystallized Creature scales better to fit your level, but both feat chains require a 3-feat investment, and the Psicrystal one [which in some ways is better because of what Psicrystals allow you to do] only scales with Manifester level as opposed to the other feat chain that scales with all your levels together. Not a huge difference but it feels noteworthy.Many Large ACs come with fantastic combat abilities, especially if you invest a bit in them and get synergizing co-op stuff yourself, even more so if you're willing to use your crystal as a mount (which for example even the excellent devil monkey can actually serve as per RAW, in addition to wielding manufactured reach weapons if you can give it proficiency).

However, when comparing to ACs with druid progression, I think it's also worth keeping in mind that those can access far more powerful options than crystallized creatures can, most notably because they have a feat progression and access to all feats they can physically use if given an Int of 3+. Quite a few druid ACs can relatively easily achieve a combat prowess that will put a large majority of PCs to shame.


That's also a really good point for the Warcat, which I forgot about completely. A similar point could be made about the Roc and several dinosaurs.Yep. And speaking of the roc, it truly does rock hard straight out of the box if you're mainly ranged, giving you a free 80+ ft. fly move every turn without limiting your own actions! The only minor downer is that, as a crystallized creature, it can't take the fantastic Buraq AC archetype to get Akashic veils (like Handcannons for its own ranged attacks).