[3.5] Erudite Cohort as Psionic Spellbook?

[Analytica]

Thinking over various ways of making traditional spellcasters using non-traditional D&D 3.5 classes, I thought of this solution. Have I read the rules correctly? How shady is it? Overpowered? Useful? Can it be improved?

In any case: be a psionic character. Either be a thrallherd or have the Leadership feat. Either gives you a cohort, who happens to take levels in Erudite. An Erudite can know an infinite number of powers, but can only manifest a limited number each day. Furthermore, there are Erudites who are able to convert arcane spells into powers and add those to their powers known.

You yourself know the Thieving Mindlink power, and your cohort knows, among other useful powers, the Bestow Power power. Now, by Thieving Mindlink, you temporarily gain one power known from the cohort, who loses it. However, she has not manifested it, so her number of remaining unique powers per day is unaffected. The cohort then uses Bestow Power to restore the power points you lost using Thieving Mindlink. You can do this multiple times, until the cohort runs out of power points, and the powers will remain known to you for ML x 10 minutes.

The idea, then: your cohort is basically some form of psionic inanimate object, or a brain in a jar, or a symbiont on your body. As it is an erudite, it can learn spells converted into powers. You can "prepare" them from it using the above method.

What do you think? Any ideas for suitable race choices for the cohort, to make it as much an object and as little a creature as possible? Can a psicrystal be taken as a cohort, and if so, what are its stats?

[erikun]

Psychic Chirurgery will grant you the powers directly. Why not just take that route?

I admit, this is handy for utility powers like Knock, although if you're using it that much you might as well get it implanted. Remember though: your cohort uses XP to learn new powers, and may not be interested in spending it on something like Psionic Lion's Charge. (even if you are)

[Lycanthromancer]

You can manifest directly from the cohort's powers known as if he/she/it were a power stone, so long as you're physically touching him/her/it.

No need for thieving mindlink or bestow power (or even psychic chirurgery).

The Relevant Section of the SRD.

Make it an intelligent item (a graft) which you affix to yourself (that has erudite levels), and voila.

[Analytica]

Psychic Chirurgery requires 1000 XP per such power and is available around level 17 at the earliest, whereas this works from level 7, throughout a much wider level range. While the erudite needs 20 XP per class level to learn a new power, this is still much less than the alternative.

The issue with what it wants is more problematic. If the cohort is in fact a thrall, it will follow even suicidal commands, and so would probably go along with strange power choices. Same if it is sufficiently dominated or otherwise molded to somehow want this. This quickly moves into rather evil territory, of course; something like taking an erudite, removing most of the body and keeping it as a living power receptory, similar to the obsidian globe psion thinking machines in Dark Sun, maybe.

[erikun]

That won't work on all powers, I'm afraid. Your link indicates that the power in question needs to be on the manifester's power list.

A psionic character can attempt to manifest a power from a source other than his own knowledge (usually a power stone or another willing psionic character). To do so, the character must first make contact (a process similar to addressing a power stone, requiring a Psicraft check against a DC of 15 + the highest level power in the power stone or repertoire)....

Next, the psionic character must choose one of the powers and make a second Psicraft check (DC 15 + the power’s level) to see if he understands it. If the power is not on his class list, he automatically fails this check.

This will work with, say, a Psion and an Erudite holding Psion/Wilder powers, but not a Psion and an Erudite holding Ardent powers.

[Analytica]

As for manifesting from another's powers known, there is some weird formulation there that implies that you can only do it once per day for each power. Has that been clarified anywhere?

It also has the limitation that you automatically fail the psicraft check for powers not on your list, so it would not allow a psion to manifest the converted spells-to-powers of an erudite cohort.

Edit: Ninjaed. : )

[deuxhero]

Psychic Chirurgery will grant you the powers directly. Why not just take that route?

I admit, this is handy for utility powers like Knock, although if you're using it that much you might as well get it implanted. Remember though: your cohort uses XP to learn new powers, and may not be interested in spending it on something like Psionic Lion's Charge. (even if you are)

No, it's quite OK for a cohort to be spending XP. They get tons (being 2 ECL behind, thus get decent bit more than you) that they can't use to level (they still get XP).

[Lycanthromancer]

That won't work on all powers, I'm afraid. Your link indicates that the power in question needs to be on the manifester's power list.


This will work with, say, a Psion and an Erudite holding Psion/Wilder powers, but not a Psion and an Erudite holding Ardent powers.

Well, I did mention that it worked like pulling from a power stone.

That's a qualification of manifesting from a power stone.

So long as the erudite in question has mostly psion/wilder powers, that'll increase your potential pool of 'powers known' manifold.

It would help if you were an erudite too, since manifesting in such a way does't use your Unique Powers Per Day.

[jokey665]

Could a Psion manifesting a power that isn't on his list from an Erudite use Use Psionic Device to emulate being the class who's list the power is on?

[Analytica]

It would help if you were an erudite too, since manifesting in such a way does't use your Unique Powers Per Day.

Has that been explicitly stated anywhere? The Complete Psionics text seems vague in this respect.

[deuxhero]

Has that been explicitly stated anywhere? The Complete Psionics text seems vague in this respect.

Complete Psionics is vauge? News to me...

[Lycanthromancer]

Complete Psionics is vauge? News to me...

Vauge? Is that like vogue?

Because Complete Psionic was NEVER vogue.