Post/Author/DateTime	Post
blds_bane 03-01-08, 03:38 AM	I'm asking you to give me as many ideas on how I should extend the life of my Thri Kreen Psion. Currently my DM stays at the life span is only 25years I want to go epic and am finding it hard to gain the lvels fast enough to do this and not die of old age. I've played Thri Kreens of all alignments so evil methods are fun for me as well as any other way you can think of.
Cravin 03-01-08, 03:50 AM	I'm asking you to give me as many ideas on how I should extend the life of my Thri Kreen Psion. Currently my DM stays at the life span is only 25years I want to go epic and am finding it hard to gain the lvels fast enough to do this and not die of old age. I've played Thri Kreens of all alignments so evil methods are fun for me as well as any other way you can think of. Find a vampire and pay/bribe/dominate...something it to turn you.
Zappy 03-01-08, 07:46 AM	Just for curiosity where did your DM come up with 25 years? There is no age table in the CompPsi and Thri-Keen aren't listed in XPH/SRD. I was thinking of Synad along the same lines, and if I've missed something I'd appreciate the extra knowledge.
Janzen 03-01-08, 09:01 AM	I know its not like finding the " Fountain of Youth " to extend your life here =D We had this issue come up a few times with one of my players that had two Thri-Kreen characters ( Psion & Multi-Weapon Ranger ) in two different campaigns. As the DM I suggested since both his characters were pretty intelligent that it would be a interesting plot him to adventure to seek out immortality since he hated the idea of his character dying of something dumb like old age. Now it was just like playing a character thats selfish and fears his own demise. Other then that I can't think of a rule or book that could help...its mainly the choice of the DM.
Lycanthromancer 03-01-08, 09:48 AM	Pay a spellcaster to cast astral projection on you, then move your body to a plane with the timeless trait...such as the Astral Plane.
steventirey1985 03-01-08, 10:08 AM	Just for curiosity where did your DM come up with 25 years? There is no age table in the CompPsi and Thri-Keen aren't listed in XPH/SRD. I was thinking of Synad along the same lines, and if I've missed something I'd appreciate the extra knowledge. Thri-kreen are in the XPH. The aging table is on page 16. Max age for a 'kreen is 25+1d4 years. (The info for the Thri-kreen are not in the SRD because they arn't OGC.)
InkBlot 03-01-08, 06:16 PM	If you can reach 11th level, then you can use suspend life to more than double your remaining lifespan. Manifest it every night (I know thri-kreen don't normally sleep). Manifest it when things get really boring. Manifest it when you're on a long trip and have your comrades carry you in a Bag Of Holding. It may seem unnatural, but people have done things much more bizarre in order to dodge death (e.g., liches). I want to go epic and am finding it hard to gain the levels fast enough to do this and not die of old age. I'm honestly surprised that you can't level up your thri-kreen fast enough. Did you start the game as a venerable thri-kreen? The longest-running game I ever played in, which took the characters from level 1 to level 20 over the course of five years, only took two or three years from the perspective of the characters. In an Eberron game I've been playing lately, the characters gained 4 levels over the course of about two months. Is it a player-driven game, where it's up to the players to explore the world to find adventure? Is it an event driven game, where the adventure revolves around participating in/trying to stop/trying to cause something happening in certain time frame?
archerpwr 03-01-08, 07:32 PM	iirc there is a cursed item that gives the vampire template at no LA cost buried somewhere. Dirt cheap too iirc.
kyeudo 03-02-08, 09:16 PM	There's always the abuse of True Mind Switch to keep you alive indefinately.
Darren_Stormsword 03-02-08, 10:12 PM	Also if you feel like losing three levels (depending on your build, you might find it useful) you could go Ruathar, 3rd level lengthens all age categories by 50% so that puts your thri-kreen dying at 37.5 instead of 25. EDIT: @^: the problem with that is that you lose all of the nifty racial abilities that thri-kreens gain.
CrimsonDeath 03-02-08, 10:27 PM	@^: the problem with that is that you lose all of the nifty racial abilities that thri-kreens gain. Not if you True Mind Switch with a younger Thri-Kreen.
Scion of Coldshard 03-02-08, 10:31 PM	Since lifespan doesnt really have any mechanical benefit it should be easy enough to research a power which can extend your life. So just research a power that you need to manifest each day with instantaneous duration that makes it so that the next 24 hours dont actually age you. If this seems too easy then simply make it a power that is, say, 4th level and when it is manifested you age at half speed for the next 1 hour/manifester level. Put on an augmentation that for every 2 pp increases the denominator by 1 (ie the first augment makes it 1/3 rate, second 1/4 rate, etc). That should do effectively the same thing game wise but the character will know that eventually its time will be up anyway.. no matter how hard it pushes ;)
Lycanthromancer 03-02-08, 10:46 PM	Ask your DM for a 1/day item of mass time hop that'll hop you for 8 hours each night, or one that will put you under the effects if suspend life if you think you might be abandoned or if your group is ambushed.
JulesCARV 03-03-08, 01:27 AM	Given that ruathar is a prestige class for people who have achieved a deep level of acceptance among elves, and the main relationship between thri-kreen and elves is that of thri-kreen eating elves, I find ruathar a bit unlikely -- not impossible, but unlikely :). Anyway, this is arguable, but one might claim that achieving ten levels of Uncarnate gets rid of the age limit, since there's no body. Others might say that that's not the case, and that you still die of old age as an uncarnate. At any rate, DM call -- ask your DM. Sure, you'll lose four manifester levels, but hey, you're playing a psion as a member of a race with a -2 intelligence penalty, two racial hit dice, and a +2 level adjustment, so I'm guessing Real Ultimate Power isn't your aim here. (heck, thri-kreen aren't mammals anyway, so the most obvious path of Real Ultimate Power isn't available to them at any rate.) Another possibility is to go grim psion (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20030628b) a psionic lich transformational prestige class. It's from 3.0, and unupdated, but most of it isn't too 3.0 psionics dependent (except for the stuff about using charisma for psychokinetic powers now that you don't have a constitution score).
Stockvillain 03-03-08, 01:40 AM	There's a 9th level spell called kissed by the ages published in a recent issue of Dragon [one of the last 5 or 6 hardcopy editions] that binds your lifeforce to a magical item and makes you ageless as long as the item exists [which becomes nearly impossible to destroy while you live]. I've sure you could get a psionic version approved by your DM and then pay a higher level psion to manifest it for you [since the main limiter on the spell is that you can't cast it on yourself].
CrimsonDeath 03-03-08, 01:51 AM	If you can't cast the spell on yourself, why does he need a psionic version?
AntiDjinn 03-03-08, 02:06 AM	Not if you True Mind Switch with a younger Thri-Kreen. If you don't mind playing evil and don't wish to leave it to chance that you meet a younger Thri-Kreen, then start a family. Take your pick of progeny and TMS. Put junior on ice somewhere (a large amount of quintessence works well for this) in your old bod. Your character can this pretty much indefinitely: Just encourage your kids to pursue professions with low Will saves and to put their stat gains into Str, Dex, or Con and it should be pretty easy. Switch your way to Thri-Kreen immortality and add new meaning to the phrase: "I brought you into this world and I can take you out."
MnemonicSV 03-03-08, 02:36 AM	There are still other options: If your DM considers aging to be an "ongoing effect" then you could also go 10 levels of Metamind and keep temporal reiteration or timeless body going all day. (Even then, I still don't think the Metamind is worth it.) Perhaps crystalize yourself at night and have an ally dispel it every morning. Though that would be a daily pain for your ally. Blackstone hammer or eyes of the basilisk follows the same train of thought, if you can find an ally with a means of restoring you (cough cough magic cough). A generous DM may not consider you to be aging while in the form of an inanimate object via metamorphosis. Collect enough quintessence and "go for a dip"when the action slows down for years on end. Again, counting on allies to awake you when necessary (dismiss ectoplasm might work well). Build a "summer home" on the astral plane, and plane shift there whenever necessary (creatures don't age in the astral plane). This is the most effective option IMHO, if you don't mind fighting off the locals once in a while. Astral caravan can work in the short term just as well if you don't mind "drifting around" with nothing to do for hours on end. If you're really desperate, you could use fiery discorporation. I'd say that is the absolute worst option though.
PhaedrusXY 03-03-08, 02:37 AM	If you don't mind playing evil and don't wish to leave it to chance that you meet a younger Thri-Kreen, then start a family. Take your pick of progeny and TMS. Put junior on ice somewhere (a large amount of quintessence works well for this) in your old bod. Your character can this pretty much indefinitely: Just encourage your kids to pursue professions with low Will saves and to put their stat gains into Str, Dex, or Con and it should be pretty easy. Switch your way to Thri-Kreen immortality and add new meaning to the phrase: "I brought you into this world and I can take you out."Wow... that is really evil. And a great idea. :evillaugh You can avoid the huge XP cost of True Mind Switch by using Astral Seed + (normal) Mind Switch, instead.
CrimsonDeath 03-03-08, 02:51 AM	If you don't mind playing evil and don't wish to leave it to chance that you meet a younger Thri-Kreen, then start a family. Take your pick of progeny and TMS. Put junior on ice somewhere (a large amount of quintessence works well for this) in your old bod. Your character can this pretty much indefinitely: Just encourage your kids to pursue professions with low Will saves and to put their stat gains into Str, Dex, or Con and it should be pretty easy. Switch your way to Thri-Kreen immortality and add new meaning to the phrase: "I brought you into this world and I can take you out." That's pretty evil for a Thri-Kreen. I mean, hunting down other Thri-Kreen to TMS with at least preys on creatures outside your pack. Preying on members of your own pack, though?... That's seriously evil.
AntiDjinn 03-03-08, 03:08 AM	Well, what would be the point of being sorta evil? I have toyed with the idea of running a campaign in which the main opposition to the party is a powerful psionic dynasty. The clan was founded centuries ago by a telepath/thrallherd of great power and greater evil. Presently, the matriach of the clan is old and infirm and is expected to soon pass the title to her favored son. What none of the players, or even any of the other clan members, suspects is that the founding father never gave up his role. He has been True Mind Switching his way down his own family tree for centuries. He grooms an heir to physical perfection, then does the deed unwitnessed by others. He simply kills his kin after the switch, accepting the level loss because it matters relatively little and he knows he will soon recoup it. Not even his thralls know the truth; they know only that they are sworn to serve the clan's master and so do not question why their loyalty should transfer to a new master of the house. When the party reaches the end of the campaign they will find that the new lord, whom they thought to be an inexperienced boy, can lay some epic-level smackdown on them.
AntiDjinn 03-03-08, 10:40 PM	If you're really desperate, you could use fiery discorporation. I'd say that is the absolute worst option though. FD only kicks in when you would have died due to hit point loss. It does not apply to other causes of death (Con zeroed, death effects, negative levels, etc.). Since reaching the end of your lifespan doesn't kill you with damage, the power won't apply. It is actually a rather poor power, I am not sure why so many people are impressed with it. So, yes, worst option on the table.
MnemonicSV 03-04-08, 01:10 AM	FD only kicks in when you would have died due to hit point loss. It does not apply to other causes of death (Con zeroed, death effects, negative levels, etc.). Since reaching the end of your lifespan doesn't kill you with damage, the power won't apply. It is actually a rather poor power, I am not sure why so many people are impressed with it. So, yes, worst option on the table. No no no.. that's not what I mean. I meant intentionally dropping your HP to almost nothing, then dealing a little damage to yourself to trigger your fiery discorporation. Since you do not exist for a day, you cannot age during that time. I don't know anyone who would go to such extreme measures to actually do that to themselves just to add one day to their lifespan. I wouldn't. Especially since there's a real chance of failing to manifest the power (and thus going into negative HP... hope there's an ally nearby with a cure potion if it fails). However, it still remains an (albeit risky) option. ----- As it happens though, I once played a wilder with this power who was actually in a scenario in which she needed to trigger her own fiery discorpoartion. No joke! Got herself stuck in a dungeon room, low hp, cut off from allies or escape routes, while a mass of magma was slowly breaking it's way through the ceiling (don't ask). It was either die, or pull out the dagger and go to work. Sure enough, as truly unpleasant and risky as it was, it worked and she lived to tell the tale. ----- Getting back to the matter at hand, I really do feel that spending off-time in the astral plane is by far the best option.
AntiDjinn 03-04-08, 01:33 AM	If you are using FD just for the skip a day feature then you are going to have trouble regaining power points since you still need 8 hours of sleep following 24 hours of skip. It also means your party (and opponents) are going to leave you in the dust because they can adventure and gain XP on the days when you don't even exist. From your perception you will still have the same lifespan, but that lifetime will span more calendar days from the perspective of the rest of the world.
CrimsonDeath 03-04-08, 07:40 AM	Why does a Wilder learn Fiery Discorporation?
Bedeverekm 03-04-08, 01:37 PM	I have toyed with the idea of running a campaign in which the main opposition to the party is a powerful psionic dynasty. The clan was founded centuries ago by a telepath/thrallherd of great power and greater evil. Presently, the matriach of the clan is old and infirm and is expected to soon pass the title to her favored son. What none of the players, or even any of the other clan members, suspects is that the founding father never gave up his role. He has been True Mind Switching his way down his own family tree for centuries. He grooms an heir to physical perfection, then does the deed unwitnessed by others. He simply kills his kin after the switch, accepting the level loss because it matters relatively little and he knows he will soon recoup it. Not even his thralls know the truth; they know only that they are sworn to serve the clan's master and so do not question why their loyalty should transfer to a new master of the house. When the party reaches the end of the campaign they will find that the new lord, whom they thought to be an inexperienced boy, can lay some epic-level smackdown on them. That is scary, for one reason. The campaign im in at the moment, this is the exact background story...
MnemonicSV 03-04-08, 02:20 PM	If you are using FD just for the skip a day feature then you are going to have trouble regaining power points since you still need 8 hours of sleep following 24 hours of skip. It also means your party (and opponents) are going to leave you in the dust because they can adventure and gain XP on the days when you don't even exist. From your perception you will still have the same lifespan, but that lifetime will span more calendar days from the perspective of the rest of the world. And I completely agree with all of that. Of course, the same could be said for a ton of other "life extension" techniques (as measured by the perception of others, not the character using them) mentioned in this thread. The OP never specified these measures needed to be practical or efficient or even risk-free. No harm giving all the options. I once had a 2e psionicist who had a habit of intentionally keeping himself in layered stasis fields whenever the spellcasters went off researching spells or making magic items or whatnot. I would estimate over his adventuring career he added at least a few years to his lifespan, at least by the perception of others. Why does a Wilder learn Fiery Discorporation? It was actually a wilder/pyrokineticist build (educated wilder variant of course). VERY heavy on the fire theme (control flames, matter agitation, mostly energy powers, yada yada). I practically couldn't not take FD given the fiery obsession she had (even though it was her highest level power).
Callista 03-07-08, 12:21 PM	Couldn't you just hire a druid to Reincarnate you? I mean... that's the standard option, right? Or do you need to be self-sufficient?
'Dane 03-07-08, 12:33 PM	While it is aguable, I would say to use Astral Seed, then when you get close to death kill yourself, then make a new, younger, body. It doesn't say anything in the spell description that the new body has to be the same as the old one. New body = new lifespan, you might even be able to get away with picking a diffrent race. I also would like to know how age penalties/bonuses stack with True mind switch? because if you're at the oldest age (venerable?) you have a +3 to int wis and cha, so when you TMS would you keep those bonuses? and do you continue to accumulate them in your new body? if so as a thri-kreen you would go through age brackets quite quickly and would gain an enourmous ammount of age related int wis and cha bonuses in a relativle short time. Though it is quite likely that the "mind" bonuses should only apply once and the physical modifiers applly repeatedly.
TevolRia 03-07-08, 12:53 PM	While it is aguable, I would say to use Astral Seed, then when you get close to death kill yourself, then make a new, younger, body. It doesn't say anything in the spell description that the new body has to be the same as the old one. New body = new lifespan, you might even be able to get away with picking a diffrent race. I also would like to know how age penalties/bonuses stack with True mind switch? because if you're at the oldest age (venerable?) you have a +3 to int wis and cha, so when you TMS would you keep those bonuses? and do you continue to accumulate them in your new body? if so as a thri-kreen you would go through age brackets quite quickly and would gain an enourmous ammount of age related int wis and cha bonuses in a relativle short time. Though it is quite likely that the "mind" bonuses should only apply once and the physical modifiers applly repeatedly. you wouldn't lose the mental bonuses. I would house rule that you could continue to accumulate mental bonuses at a rate equal to your original race if you weren't already at the max. that much is fair. the rest is up to the DM.
AntiDjinn 03-08-08, 12:19 AM	Astral Seed isn't a bad choice at all, so long as you remember to keep updating it. It allows your character to be self-sufficient. Normally, when your character dies, whether or not you will get to play him again depends on the actions of others. Astral Seed is also the only way published so far to come back after being taken down by a Mind Seed. As long as your Astral Seed is not corrupted (think of Mind Seed as a virus formatting your mind and overwriting it with a different operating system, and Astral Seed as a restore from backup) and as long as the new personality does not manifest the power to update it, when the seed personality eventually dies the soul goes to the crystal and you get rebooted. It does not, however, make you 12 years old again. The power does not say you can take off age categories.
Second 03-08-08, 01:13 AM	I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Necropolitan template from Libris Mortis. It's Diet-Lich. All the undeath, and no weird abilities to raise your LA. I've done it myself as a Psion (as early as level 3) and never regretted it. It's not exactly good, but not explicitly evil. You'll probably have to find and bribe some necromancer or cleric of an undeath god to do it. Preferably a neutral one that won't just let you die and neglect to animate you just for your treasure. Or if your party is cool with it, have them witness the ritual and keep an eye on the one controlling it.
Acksiom 03-17-08, 03:33 AM	Personally, I'd just go ahead and die. With the understanding, of course, that I would then come right back again, only with the celestial (or whatever) template added.
LustSwordsinger 03-22-08, 05:53 PM	im actually facing the same problem. my EL thri kreen is gettin pretty old, and like you said, evil is fun! so heres what im doing: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20031212a
sakuradm 03-22-08, 07:06 PM	I found a cool item yesterday that stops the aging process for the day it is used, it has infinate uses but only can be used once/24 hours. It's called mascara of longevity and costs 36400 gp.... I know this doesn't really have anything to do with psionics... but hey, it stops the aging process...
InkBlot 03-22-08, 07:21 PM	Sakuradm, what book did you find that in?
sakuradm 03-22-08, 07:55 PM	Not a book, a website actually :P I have a lot of Homebrew stuff in my campaign... here ill send the link, go to Magic items of Beauty http://www.shatteredfractine.com/love/soft.html
Lycanthromancer 03-22-08, 08:33 PM	Yeah, I can see it now; a thri-kreen using makeup to make him look pretty.
egaroadkill 03-22-08, 08:45 PM	Do the TK's have criminals? Simply shop around for one nicely stat equiped condemned to die and arrange a deal with the authorities to take your old body instead while you walk off in the criminals using TMS. So what if you lose a level, go out and get more Xp in your nice, slightly used but, youthfull body. Is this act so evil?
sakuradm 03-22-08, 09:03 PM	Yeah, I can see it now; a thri-kreen using makeup to make him look pretty. -_- the OP wanted something to extend their life. I provided an item with which to do so.
Lycanthromancer 03-22-08, 09:05 PM	Makeup generally makes you LOOK younger, yes. But...Ahem...Thri-kreen? MADNESS! :P
sakuradm 03-22-08, 10:31 PM	lol It is a MAGIC ITEM :P it actually nullifies the aging proccess for the day it is worn, it does not deplete, but can only be used once per day.
Lycanthromancer 03-22-08, 10:51 PM	How...poignant. :P http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g111/Lycanthromancer/ThriKreen.jpg
CrimsonDeath 03-22-08, 11:09 PM	Do the TK's have criminals? Simply shop around for one nicely stat equiped condemned to die and arrange a deal with the authorities to take your old body instead while you walk off in the criminals using TMS. So what if you lose a level, go out and get more Xp in your nice, slightly used but, youthfull body. Is this act so evil? No, Thri-Kreen don't have "criminals". As I understand, they travel in small packs, and the only people they consider to be "people" are members of their own pack-- which, for adventuring Thri-Kreen, might not necessarily be Thri-Kreen themselves. The advantage here is that a Thri-Kreen would have no qualms about stealing another's body, and as long as he finishes off the rest of the pack, nobody else will care either.
sakuradm 03-22-08, 11:42 PM	Oh, I forgot something: Evermead - costs 200 gp, found on www.crystalkeep.com, roll d12 to determine how many years were lost, lasts for 6 hours...