Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ulihion 03-14-07, 06:21 PM	Recently, whilst rereading Magic of Incarnum with the intention of possibly creating a Psion/Incarnate character, I ran into a couple of possible loopholes, involving the Psycarnum Infusion feat. I'd apprieciate some advice, as I don't know if they actually work like this. First: How does this feat interact with Azure Talent? Specifically, if you are otherwise out of power points, and used Psicarnum Infusion on Azure Talent (with no essentia currently invested), then used the points to manifest a power, leaving your reserve empty, then regained your focus, and Infused the Talent feat again, would you have any power points? Once the bonus points you have for one round go away, do they 'remember' being spent, or can you use this to basically gain infinite PPs. I am aware that you need at least 1 PP to gain your focus, but if you had a psi-like that was still usable, would this work? Second: More straightforwardly, if you Psycarnum Infuse the Midnight Augmentation feat, do you get to pick a different power each time, as no essentia is actually being invested, you just treat it as if it had the maximum invested for a turn? Thanks in advance Ulihion
Istarion 03-14-07, 06:34 PM	On question Nš2: You don't get to choose a new power each time you infuse the M.A.: it states that "Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat and choose a particular power that you know" So no matter how you can change the amount of essentia invested on MA, you can only choose a power once per day.
Ulihion 03-14-07, 07:16 PM	Istarion: Yes, that's how I though it might work, but the question arose because if you don't actually put any essentia in the Midnight Augment., you never actually get to the point where you choose a power it applies to. Psicarnum Infusion doesn't actually invest essentia, it just treats one receptacle as though it had the max invested, for one round. So, another question: When you use Psicarnum Infusion (Psic.Inf) on Midnight Augment (Mid.Aug), do you then lose the ability to invest essentia in the feat for the day, as you've chosen a power, and invested zero (to get Psic.Inf. to work). In fact, do you have to do that, for Psic.Inf and Mid.Aug to work at all? Meaning you need at least a round's run up, as investing essentia is a swift action, and so is Psic.Inf. This is looking very complicated. Ulihion
Istarion 03-14-07, 08:01 PM	Let's see: at the start of the day, you choose to invest essentia in this feat and choose a power. It may be a stretch, but even if the amount of essentia is zero, you should get to choose the power MA works for. Also, remember that the essentia invested on MA can't be changed normally during the day, as per the feat description. ...Psicarnum infusion does not say which kind of action it is, only that you must expend focus. and using Midnight augmentation is part of manifesting a power. So, if you want to use it with MA, then, you must: a)have Psicrystal containment and expend both focus on a turn, then expend 2 full round actions (2 move actions if you have psionic meditation) b) have psionic meditation and activate infusion, then refocus, and then activate MA.
awaken_D_M_golem 03-14-07, 08:39 PM	sshhh , don't tell anybody , you found one of the good one's yep , MidAug at level 6 ... BestowPower is at first augment. 6pp to transfer 4pp. MidAug says provide 1pp regularly , and then 2 essentia discounts it 2pp. So now you're at 4pp to transfer 4pp. Find one more discount and you're golden :D ... or broken , I don't remember which. Psycarnum Infusion and Mid.Metamagic made it to the TO board , beyond the CO board. Psycarnum Infusion and Mid.Augment is no where near as broke , and its tough too. Slightly more flexible than flat Mid.Aug into BestowPower , cause you could use it on other powers. I'm feeling yawny on this one. Psycarnum Infusion and Azure Talent , with high enough essentia , can pop out BestowPowers. Earlier , you run out of pp , but you've got a Cognizance Crystal of 1pp. Obtain Focus. Go to town. But its slow and inefficient , and only really works with 1/min+ duration powers , and refill the CC. Don't forget PHB2 retraining to get rid of useless feats for free / downtime , instead of Psychic Reformation. An expecting mama illithid 'told' me to tell you that Ulihion is such a cute name for a "tadpole" . ;)
Thomar_of_Uointer 03-15-07, 02:14 AM	Also check out the Mind's Eye articles on psionic soulmelds. And don't underestimate the ability to open chakras, chakra binds are on the road to high-level effects. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20060217a
Ulihion 03-16-07, 04:14 PM	Hmmm.. so the general consensus seems to be that Mid.Aug is 'set' to a certain power as soon as any essentia is invested in it, virtual or otherwise... I phrase it like that because as far as I can tell from reading the Incarnum feats, you don't have to assign essentia to them at the start of the day, just you can only do so once per day for each feat. Awaken_D_M_Golem: So the Azure Talent trick works then? I guess it depends on whether your reserve can go "negative" when you lose bonus PPs that don't hang around all day. The trick I had in mind was to use Psionic Meditation to regain focus, and keep doing it every round... Good point on the Cog. Crystals though, that's a way to store the points *outside* your reserve before the round ends. Won't work to pull off the combo, though, as a CC can't restore your personal reserve. However, I believe if you have a psi-like ability still usable, you are still capable of gaining focus. I just wish I could remember where I read that... Oh, yes, and thank you for the name compliment. At least, I assume it was such. Can Illithids be "cute"? Ulihion
Thomar_of_Uointer 03-16-07, 11:34 PM	Can Illithids be "cute"? http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/50511818/?q=by%3Aluprand+in%3Ascraps&qh=sort%3Atime
awaken_D_M_golem 03-17-07, 03:22 PM	Mama Illithids translate their telepathic bizzzap , into common , to mean "cute". And hey , Beholders can be "cute" - just check out Wizo Mel's avatar. Technically , I've already been CharmMonster'd to not talk about it ... The CogCrystal holds 1pp available to you. If you have 1 or more power points available ... I'm interpreting the holy text somewhat broadly , i.e. available means available. Mind you , any holy text causes thousands of years of warfare before detente. Otherwise , merely obtain Psi-focus before you run out of points. And then do it. Once. Very expensive. I'd use the feats differently IF this is the way you go. Either way , not as good as BP , but reasonable for WarMind and the Monk PrCs , heh DivineMind. Psycarnum + Mid.Aug never sets the power that restricts Mid.Aug. I don't have the text right in front of me , but there's an As If clause type thingy. Gaining focus , then expending it on 1pp for 1st level powers , 2pp on 2nds , etc... doesn't work as well as BestowPower. And 1pp is the only discount up to 5th level , barring major intervention , 2pp is the discount at 6th ; Oh Look - BestowPower. Safe your feat slots. Recharge rocks.
Ulihion 03-18-07, 03:21 PM	Thanks for the help, everyone. Questions are now a little theoretical, as I now know the game's not going to use Incarnum. A bit of a shame, as I was hoping to give the rules a proper try out. Thomar, thanks very much for that picture. Daft in the extreme. Ulihion