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View Full Version : Pathfinder Mind Seed on your Psicrystal



Segev
2020-12-22, 07:23 PM
This trick, best I can figure, requires either Vitalist 17 with Expanded Knowledge for the Telepath 8 power of mind seed, or a Telepath 15 with three levels of Vitalist (to get Spirit of Many). It also requires the Shared Power metapsionic feat, used to give the "Network" descriptor to mind seed, so it needs to have ML 17 anyway to cover the extra +2 pp needed.

Spirit of Many removes the "Mind-Affecting" tag from Network powers used on creatures in your Collective, and in general makes it feasible to use powers on Collective members who would normally be immune.

Your psicrystal absolutely can be in your Collective.

Now, when you use mind seed, the creature's mind is overwritten by an impression of yours, and even gains your powers as if you were eight levels lower. As you're at least level 17, this means your psicrystal is going to be a 9th level Vitalist or a 10th level psion (telepath)! (Unless you have some PrCs or something mingled in there.)

Since your psicrystal is already a fragment of your personality, this isn't even all that evil (in practice); you're imprinting more of yourself into it. IT's still your psicrystal, too! It will retain telepathic connection to you, and, technically, also develops its own psicrystal. But the more interesting thing, to me, is that it's a psicrystal that is you with its own power points, feats, levels, powers, etc.

I'm sure I'm only touching the tip of the iceberg with this realization, and invite others to examine it for flaws or come up with ways to exploit this. Maybe getting it even earlier.

Psyren
2020-12-24, 04:47 PM
Spirit of Many removes the "Mind-Affecting" tag from Network powers used on creatures in your Collective, and in general makes it feasible to use powers on Collective members who would normally be immune.


Despite the fact that Spirit of Many beats immunities, I don't think it actually overcomes the "Humanoid" targeting restriction in Mind Seed. A psicrystal's immunity to mind-affecting powers can certainly be overcome this way, but merely being an invalid target for the manifestation entirely is a different barrier by my reading.

If your GM can endure this kind of lactose however then you have nothing to lose by discussing it.

MaxiDuRaritry
2020-12-24, 05:20 PM
Use metamorphosis, maybe? Or perhaps polymorph (any object)?

Segev
2020-12-24, 07:17 PM
I had missed/forgotten the "humanoid" requirement. However, I will also point out this:

"If a vitalist power specifies one or more willing targets (or is harmless) and has a range greater than personal, he can manifest this power on a member of his collective regardless of the range of the actual power. All other non-range restrictions still apply. He may also manifest any power with the Network descriptor this way, regardless of their actual ranges or targets." (emphasis added)

That's from the Collective description, and might - though I probably am stretching things here - be read to remove the need to obey usual targeting restrictions on a Network power manifested on a member of the Collective.

sreservoir
2020-12-24, 11:08 PM
It's not clear to me not sure what other restrictions would be ignored by regardless-of-actual-targets.