Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Tectorman 02-14-08, 03:30 PM	I know the rules say nothing. I know that this question has probably been posted before by many other people whose psicrystal died and they want another one (or just to know what's supposed to happen). And since I went to the trouble of directly asking CustServ myself, I know they won't even bother to hazard a guess as to what's supposed to happen. So, what does the Psion in your group do (how does your DM adjudicate it, etc.)?
AntiDjinn 02-14-08, 03:44 PM	Ah, what you have asked is perhaps the most basic question in all of psionics; When you have received the answer you will have received enlightenment. Here is how the DM for my current game would handle it (I say would because my psicrystal has not died yet, but the rules have been laid down): When a psicrystal is destroyed it is replaced at a point that is story-driven. The length of time is up to the DM and will depend on whether the pet rock just died due to happenstance beyond anyone's control or due to rank stupidity on the character's part (figure the character is racked by guilt that prevents his mind from forming another crystal until he had dealt with it). Per the DM, for most cases this means the next time the party has some downtime. If there is no break in the action, then the new crystal comes into being at some dramatic point in the game. If the owner has selected a different personality type (the DM would allow that) then its moment of appearance relates to its personality. Your mileage may vary. Customer Service's response of "He can get a new one" is not particularly useful. Is that "can" as in: "He can go to the kitchen and make a sandwich" or as in: "He can win the lottery"?
Amaril 02-14-08, 09:33 PM	Because of the lack of explicit consequences in the RAW, I treat the feat very literally. That is to say the character has created a single psicrystal, and the feat must be taken again to create another psicrystal if the original is ever destroyed. I find this adds a sense of real value to the psicrystal rather than a feeling of "If it breaks, I'll just make another one." Instead, the thought is, "The psicrystal is a fragment of yourself, and it takes a lot to create. Treat it as such." With regards to feats and things of that such, I presume they don't get feats. I have been giving it some more thought lately after playing an artificer with a homunculus, and I might lean the other way. At least it seems to balance the cost of requiring a feat to gain another if it gets destroyed, but I'm not absolutely sure about it yet.
Scion of Coldshard 02-14-08, 10:02 PM	We've mostly just had it reform the next day after a 1 hour meditation period. That is to say the character has created a single psicrystal, and the feat must be taken again to create another psicrystal if the original is ever destroyed. And since the feat doesnt say you can take it more than once you are basically just telling the person to suck it up and forget about the lost feat(s)? With regards to feats and things of that such, I presume they don't get feats. I have been giving it some more thought lately after playing an artificer with a homunculus, and I might lean the other way. At least it seems to balance the cost of requiring a feat to gain another if it gets destroyed, but I'm not absolutely sure about it yet. The types of feats that the psicrystal can actually qualify for and that matter are very, very few in number. I doubt there is much of a reason to deny them their little bit of time in the sun, but then I also doubt there is much of a reason to tell a player to suck up the feat loss ;)
The_Mess 02-14-08, 10:17 PM	What lost feat? Psionic Reformation is still the best reason to play a psion! Making the character undergo psionic reformation would be a good excuse for reforming the psicrystal anyway.
Amaril 02-14-08, 10:22 PM	And since the feat doesnt say you can take it more than once you are basically just telling the person to suck it up and forget about the lost feat(s)? And since the answers to both sides of this longstanding debate are house rules, what is so wrong about house ruling that the feat can be taken again to create another psicrystal? And what prevents the "lost feat" from being replaced using psychic reformation or retraining rules from PHII? In regards to the general concept of requiring the feat to make another psicrystal, better take damn good care of the psicrystal then, huh? Don't put it in situations where it might get destroyed that easily, I say. If you don't want to deal with the potential for that kind of consequence, don't make a psicrystal to begin with. Want to have the added benefit of a personal scout that doesn't cost XP or gold? Make a psicrystal. Now that's not to say that a DM has to go out of his way to destroy said psicrystal. This is all assuming that circumstances were just bad enough by pure coincidence (or bad planning) to where a psicrystal gets destroyed. If a DM makes an effort to destroy the psicrystal, then the DM is simply a bad DM. To be clear, this is just a personal opinion rather than a declaration of hard and fast rules. If I were to determine hard and fast rules, I'd assume the lack of information was the result of bad editing and use the guidelines from the 3.0 Psionics Handbook. In fact, I assume editing is also the same reason why 3.5 information about psicrystals appears in the section for the psion when it's not strictly tied to the psion anymore. This notion is supported by the monster entry for psicrystals where it states specifically, "A psicrystal’s characteristics depend on its master. Its Hit Dice are equal to its master’s Hit Dice (counting only levels in psion or wilder)..." Again, bad editing. The types of feats that the psicrystal can actually qualify for and that matter are very, very few in number. I doubt there is much of a reason to deny them their little bit of time in the sun, but then I also doubt there is much of a reason to tell a player to suck up the feat loss ;) Honestly, I haven't evaluated the issue of feats enough to make my own decision. Like I said, after playing an artificer, I like the idea of the psicrystal getting feats, which essentially adds to its value. Conversely, not adding feats does not necessarily make the psicrystal weak. I've played with a psicrystal that didn't gain feats and I was quite content with it as has been every player I know who has had a psicrystal.
forsaken1111 02-15-08, 06:38 AM	If you're willing to look to a 3rd party source, this question has been answered in the (highly recommended) book Untapped Potential: New Horizons in Psionics (http://www.yourgamesnow.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=52&products_id=1521). I won't give specifics (copywrite, you know), but it has rules for recreating your psicrystal after destruction which are similar to the way you summon a new familiar. The book High Psionics: Psicrystals Expanded (http://www.yourgamesnow.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=52&products_id=1525) from the same publisher is also very good. It includes rules on awakening or implanting your psicrystal, or for you psychic warriors, turning your psicrystal into a weapon!
Amaril 02-15-08, 06:43 AM	If you're willing to look to a 3rd party source, this question has been answered in the (highly recommended) book Untapped Potential: New Horizons in Psionics (http://www.yourgamesnow.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=52&products_id=1521). I won't give specifics (copywrite, you know), but it has rules for recreating your psicrystal after destruction which are similar to the way you summon a new familiar. The book High Psionics: Psicrystals Expanded (http://www.yourgamesnow.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=52&products_id=1525) from the same publisher is also very good. It includes rules on awakening or implanting your psicrystal, or for you psychic warriors, turning your psicrystal into a weapon! IIRC, it's OGL so you can post that piece. Copyright protects the non-OGL content and the body of work as a whole.
hogarth 02-15-08, 07:14 AM	I won't give specifics (copywrite, you know), but it has rules for recreating your psicrystal after destruction which are similar to the way you summon a new familiar. Hopefully not that similar -- I wouldn't want to wait a year and a day to get a new pet rock!
Bacris 02-15-08, 08:10 AM	Here's the mentioned material (and yes, it is Open Content): PSICRYSTAL AFFINITY [PSIONIC] This feat originally appeared in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. It is expanded here. Prerequisite: Manifester level 1st. Benefit: As in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. Special: If your psicrystal is destroyed, you may create a replacement (or restore the pieces of the old one, there is no mechanical difference) after 24 hours have passed by spending 100 XP. The new psicrystal has the same personality type as the lost one originally did (although it may look different), and any feats or features that modify your psicrystal affect the new one normally.
Amaril 02-15-08, 10:07 AM	For the record, here are the original psicrystal rules from the 3.0 SRD (http://www.opengamingfoundation.org/srd/srdpsionicclasses.rtf)(RTF). Note the last paragraph. Psicrystal: A psion can encode a psicrystal. Doing so takes a day and requires materials that cost 100 gp (the gem used as the basis for the psicrystal represents at least 50% of the total cost). A psicrystal is a psionically charged crystalline stone no more than 1 inch in diameter. It carries a fragment personality seeded from the psion’s own mind, with which the psion can empathically interact and from which he or she can derive benefits. A psion may possess no more than one psicrystal at any one time. The psion chooses the type of psicrystal he or she gets. As the psion increases in level, his or her psicrystal also increases in utility, as shown on Table: Psicrystal Special Abilities. If the psicrystal is destroyed the psion must attempt a Fortitude save (DC 15). If the saving throw fails, the psion loses 200 experience points per class level. A successful saving throw reduces the loss by half. However, a psion’s experience can never go below 0 as the result of a psicrystal’s destruction. A destroyed psicrystal cannot be replaced for six months.
Oregwath 02-15-08, 11:17 AM	As a player, I like the UTP version MUCH better. But then again, I must say that I like everything about UTP over 3.0 psionics.
Amaril 02-15-08, 11:24 AM	As a player, of course. That could be said about anything that gives distinct advantage to a player, but that doesn't make it any better or worse in terms of game balance and fairness. Personally, I think the UTP version is too good.
Bacris 02-15-08, 11:31 AM	I'd be interested in knowing why you think that, Amaril. :)
Amaril 02-15-08, 11:34 AM	Easy. 24 hours and 100xp is nothing. There's no real consequence to sending your psicrystal into danger. You basically turn it into a 1/day ability to replace a psicrystal, especially at mid-levels and above where 100xp isn't much given the 1000+ xp you can gain in an encounter.
The_Mess 02-15-08, 12:00 PM	For the record, I agree with Amaril, the Untapped Potential rule is too easy, though, of course, worlds better than having no rule at all!. If nothing else, I'd like to see: The psion take a penalty for at least 24 hours after losing his crystal, psychic trauma. Purchase of a new chunk of perfect crystal to be imbued. (Yes, you could argue their made of ectoplasm or something, this is just the way I think of them.) 24 hour meditation to imbue the crystal.
Bacris 02-15-08, 12:39 PM	Hrm, ok. I'll take that under advisement. :) (And no, that doesn't mean I'm just going to ignore it.)
Scion of Coldshard 02-15-08, 01:34 PM	Personally, I hate exp costs for pretty much anything, so moving to an exp cost system is a massive downgrade as far as I am concerned. I have no idea why people think that getting a psicrystal back quickly and easily is a problem, it isnt like they are going to be in combat in a really massive way very often.. and if they are they are likely to be either doing almost nothing or removed from combat very quickly. An animal companion can be refreshed fairly quickly and as often as desired, even changing animal companions around (something that cannot easily be done with a psicrystal) and has no exp cost. An animal companion is much higher on the power level scale, since it can be regained fairly easily and has an extra benefit I see no reason why the psicrystal cant be similar. If psicrystals coming back quickly and easily is disrupting the game then I would have to say there is a serious problem with the specific game in question, not with regaining the psicrystal. Trying to say it should be reformed out and then reformed back in is just a backdoor hidden cost, which is a very poor way to go in my opinion. At some point it will actually get down to how some wizards and sorcs go, it is literally better to 'not' get the familiar than to get it in some cases.. I would hate to see the psicrystal go down the same path.
Amaril 02-15-08, 01:40 PM	Personally, I hate exp costs for pretty much anything, so moving to an exp cost system is a massive downgrade as far as I am concerned. I have no idea why people think that getting a psicrystal back quickly and easily is a problem, it isnt like they are going to be in combat in a really massive way very often.. and if they are they are likely to be either doing almost nothing or removed from combat very quickly. An animal companion can be refreshed fairly quickly and as often as desired, even changing animal companions around (something that cannot easily be done with a psicrystal) and has no exp cost. An animal companion is much higher on the power level scale, since it can be regained fairly easily and has an extra benefit I see no reason why the psicrystal cant be similar. If psicrystals coming back quickly and easily is disrupting the game then I would have to say there is a serious problem with the specific game in question, not with regaining the psicrystal. Trying to say it should be reformed out and then reformed back in is just a backdoor hidden cost, which is a very poor way to go in my opinion. At some point it will actually get down to how some wizards and sorcs go, it is literally better to 'not' get the familiar than to get it in some cases.. I would hate to see the psicrystal go down the same path. You can't really draw comparisons to an animal companion. Psicrystals are literally psionic familiars, not much more. With that in mind, it seems to me that you think the familiar should be treated more like a psicrystal; just get a new one without any consequences. Is that right?
Scion of Coldshard 02-15-08, 01:45 PM	You can't really draw comparisons to an animal companion. Why not? It is a seperate entity that the character gets to control and it has various abilities. The only time that people would even worry about needing to replace the psicrystal is if it is destroyed, which will basically only happen in combat, so why not compare it to something else that is basically used in combat? I dont see any reason for a familiar to be a walking achilles heel either, no. A couple of typically minor mechanical and roleplaying benefits for some potentially incredibly harsh mechanical and roleplaying drawbacks.
Amaril 02-15-08, 01:57 PM	You can't compare animal companions to familiars because animal companions don't have telepathic speech nor can they deliver touch spells or powers. They also require much more effort to control. Seriously, this is beyond the scope of this discussion. If you want to evaluate the functional differences between familiars/psicrystals with animal companions, feel free to do the research. As I mentioned before, that amount of XP is relatively small given the frequency of death or destruction for a familiar or psicrystal respectively. The real inhibitor is the delay in getting a new one. Don't forget, too, that a familiar can be raised rather than having to wait to replace it. The same cannot be said for a psicrystal since it is a construct.
jbsaff 02-15-08, 02:01 PM	Also remember that the psicrystal is a feat option, not a class feature in 3.5. Thus it should be valued differently than either the familiar or the animal companion. I think that the value of having it around far outweighs the utility of sending it into dangerous situations. If I lose mine it's either from bad luck or being ambushed.
Scion of Coldshard 02-15-08, 02:02 PM	You can't compare animal companions to familiars because animal companions don't have telepathic speech nor can they deliver touch spells or powers. They also require much more effort to control. I cant compare things because they are not exactly the same in every way? That seems.. nonsensical, perhaps you meant something else? Whether the other creature under a characters control comes from a class ability, feat, or something else so long as the rules for them are balanced themselves I dont see any reason to have an exp cost or a protracted wait time.
Amaril 02-15-08, 02:06 PM	Thus it should be valued differently than either the familiar or the animal companion. I think that the value of having it around far outweighs the utility of sending it into dangerous situations. If I lose mine it's either from bad luck or being ambushed. Well, the same could be said about a familiar.
Amaril 02-15-08, 02:12 PM	I cant compare things because they are not exactly the same in every way? That seems.. nonsensical, perhaps you meant something else? Whether the other creature under a characters control comes from a class ability, feat, or something else so long as the rules for them are balanced themselves I dont see any reason to have an exp cost or a protracted wait time. *sigh* Let me rephrase that. There's not much to compare except for the fact that it's some sort of helper. The value of the helper, how it functions, and the consequences of losing the helper are extremely different. They are so different, in fact, that it's more accurate to contrast than it would be to compare. It's no different than trying to compare a mount with an animal companion. Again, this is beyond the scope of the thread, and it will be the last post I make on this specific subject of comparing animal companions to familiars/psicrystals.
Scion of Coldshard 02-15-08, 02:18 PM	There's not much to compare except for the fact that it's some sort of helper. And that is all I really care about here. They help in different ways, have different abilities, and are gained by different classes.. but in essence they are all the same thing, a helper to the character. If they are balanced in being used normally then they should be fairly quick and easy to replace, since the game would assume that they are there because of the resources spent on them. So, either they are unbalanced and should be changed or they are balanced and they should be able to be replaced quickly and easily so that they can be used as is assumed. An exp cost is a very poor way to balance pretty much anything in the current system.
jbsaff 02-15-08, 02:21 PM	Well, the same could be said about a familiar. Except that the familiar is a class ability, not a feat. Maybe I place too much value on point, but using that feat for EK:Astral Construct would be far more effective and cheaper if I just wanted a flanking buddy. I realize that the psicrystal can do much more. I just see the opportunity cost of the feat as pretty high, without needing additional penalties for bad luck that occurs while using it.
Amaril 02-15-08, 02:31 PM	I just see the opportunity cost of the feat as pretty high, without needing additional penalties for bad luck that occurs while using it.Regarding the feat slot, I can understand your point, but that feat is granting a lot of power in terms of its value. That power also needs a counter balance. Additionally, the delay [assuming 3.0 rules] is only six months compared to the sor/wiz's year and a day. If you just want a flanking buddy or the ability to walk up a wall, by all means, take different feat. Also, don't forget psychic reformation or retraining rules, as mentioned above.
CrimsonDeath 02-15-08, 02:34 PM	Easy. 24 hours and 100xp is nothing. There's no real consequence to sending your psicrystal into danger. You basically turn it into a 1/day ability to replace a psicrystal, especially at mid-levels and above where 100xp isn't much given the 1000+ xp you can gain in an encounter. It's harsher than replacing an Animal Companion...
Amaril 02-15-08, 02:35 PM	It's harsher than replacing an Animal Companion... Blah. See the rest of the thread above. That's all I'll say about animal companions.
Zappy 02-16-08, 01:31 PM	Customer Service's response of "He can get a new one" is not particularly useful. Is that "can" as in: "He can go to the kitchen and make a sandwich" or as in: "He can win the lottery"? I absolutely love that response. Perhaps if someone sent that to customer service they might specify.
moebius00 02-16-08, 02:21 PM	I allow my characters to use Retraining (PHB II) to Retrain Psicrystal for...the same feat. THey can do this once a level and it restricts retraining other options, which I think is balanced. Also, Psychic Reformation can let you swap feats. Swap Psicrystal for itself. This costs you XP (the more the higher level you are), which I think is balanced. Both are RAW ways of recovering Psicrystals...nowhere does it say you can't replace a feat with itself.
Racinante 02-18-08, 10:30 AM	Customer Service's response of "He can get a new one" is not particularly useful. Is that "can" as in: "He can go to the kitchen and make a sandwich" or as in: "He can win the lottery"? I doubt if CS would clarify for this very reason. Let the DMs figure it out seems to be their approach with this one. My thoughts would be to compare Psicrystal Affinity to Leadership. Once you reach 6th level, both costs a feat, and the impacts of losing a cohort and gaining another seem to be pretty clear. The fact that PA doesn't grant followers should negate the leadership score disadvantages of losing a cohort when comparing the two.
AntiDjinn 02-18-08, 10:55 AM	I doubt if CS would clarify for this very reason. Let the DMs figure it out seems to be their approach with this one. They aren't going to answer because there is a huge gong at the tech support center and whenever a service tech gets the dead psicrystal question he gets to ring it. Then they all have a good laugh about it and go out for pizza.
crizh 02-18-08, 01:14 PM	Again, this is beyond the scope of the thread, and it will be the last post I make on this specific subject of comparing animal companions to familiars/psicrystals. Class. 'I don't like your argument so I'm going to ignore it.' 'Additionally, while I'm dismissing your argument out of hand, I'm going to sneakily lump familiars and pricrystals together with the all powerful "slash" thus attempting to force all readers to presume that they are interchangeable.' Nice.
Amaril 02-18-08, 02:13 PM	*sigh* OK, I'll bite. Class. 'I don't like your argument so I'm going to ignore it.'No, it's more like "agree to disagree," otherwise we'll just keep bumping heads and getting nowhere fast with this conversation. 'Additionally, while I'm dismissing your argument out of hand, I'm going to sneakily lump familiars and pricrystals together with the all powerful "slash" thus attempting to force all readers to presume that they are interchangeable.' Nice. <sarcasm>Yes, because I know that the slash will trick everyone into agreeing with me.</sarcasm>:rolleyes: It's more like, that's how I see it, so that's how I'm going to communicate and base my discussion of the value/cost/consequences associated with psicrystals. You'll probably disagree, which is fine, but I don't think it's fair to turn this into a personal attack. If you want to continue this argument over an unrelated topic (i.e. - animal companions vs. familiars vs. psicrystals), feel free to PM me rather than derail the thread, then I can respond privately yet again with, "I disagree."
crizh 02-18-08, 05:42 PM	If you want to continue this argument over an unrelated topic (i.e. - animal companions vs. familiars vs. psicrystals), feel free to PM me rather than derail the thread, The thread is about how we deal with Psicrystal death and why. Another poster said 'I think Psicrystals bear a lot of similarities to Animal Companions and therefore I don't see why they shouldn't have the same replacement rules.' You said 'Oh no they don't, end of, move on.' I'm not sure how calling you on that is de-railing the thread.
DM-Scott 02-19-08, 12:31 AM	My group allows the psicrystal to manifest again after the psion has rested (when he/she has recovered power points through rest, for example). I suppose you could also do 24 hours, or 1 week (such as animal companions); and so forth. Actually the Animal Cohort feat might be a useful thing to base recovery time off of (since you get a lesser animal companion for a feat). Personally I don't see why there needs to be some huge penalty for your psicrystal being destroyed. In fact, the penalties for familiars are pretty stupid. I'd suggest NOT trying to screw over the psion/wilder/psychic warrior or whatever. Very rarely would I imagine that it would make it more fun to get a psicrystal if it could be permanently destroyed; or cause you to suffer terrible penalties for remaking it. It also just adds something for poor DMs to try and aggravate players with (such as DMs who always try to off the wizard or sorcerer's familiar - which by the way, the 1 year and 1 day between familiar summons is just dumb). Seriously, why?
forsaken1111 02-19-08, 12:56 AM	Our group requires 24 hours and 100gp in materials to recreate the psicrystal if it is destroyed.
Lycanthromancer 02-19-08, 01:00 AM	Yes, and I'm sure all of that ectoplasm you draw from the Astral Plane costs quite a bit of money...from...your mind? "Please insert 100 gp to complete this call. Thank you for using Metacreativity Communications, and have a nice day!"
AntiDjinn 02-19-08, 02:31 AM	Maybe the 100 gp isn't for the rock itself or for astral matter. It could be the cost for a sack of herb the character has to smoke, along with some exotic amphibian venom to ingest. When the colors stop swirling and your big toe no longer feels like it is going to throw up, then your psicrystal has reformed.
forsaken1111 02-19-08, 06:18 AM	Yes, and I'm sure all of that ectoplasm you draw from the Astral Plane costs quite a bit of money...from...your mind? "Please insert 100 gp to complete this call. Thank you for using Metacreativity Communications, and have a nice day!" Argumentative much? I was just sharing what rule our group uses, as so many others have done so far. If you don't like our rule, don't use it. No need to be sarcastic or rude. The 100gp is an abstract cost for meditation herbs, incense, perhaps a focusing crystal or other implements. I'm sure there is no astral tax.
Bacris 02-19-08, 07:35 AM	Maybe the 100 gp isn't for the rock itself or for astral matter. It could be the cost for a sack of herb the character has to smoke, along with some exotic amphibian venom to ingest. When the colors stop swirling and your big toe no longer feels like it is going to throw up, then your psicrystal has reformed. Ok, this made me laugh. :)
CrimsonDeath 02-19-08, 07:35 AM	Our group requires 24 hours and 100gp in materials to recreate the psicrystal if it is destroyed. Is that also necessary to create the crystal in the first place?
Lycanthromancer 02-19-08, 12:06 PM	Argumentative much? I was just sharing what rule our group uses, as so many others have done so far. If you don't like our rule, don't use it. No need to be sarcastic or rude. The 100gp is an abstract cost for meditation herbs, incense, perhaps a focusing crystal or other implements. I'm sure there is no astral tax.It just seems a bit humorous and absurd, so I responded in kind. :D :P
The_Mess 02-19-08, 12:57 PM	Personally I don't see why there needs to be some huge penalty for your psicrystal being destroyed. In fact, the penalties for familiars are pretty stupid. {snip} Seriously, why? A piece of your soul has just been crushed. That ought to be bad. Or that's how I see it. It just feels right to me for there to be some kind of penalty that takes a while to heal. Your mileage may vary.
Scion of Coldshard 02-19-08, 02:51 PM	A piece of your soul has just been crushed. That ought to be bad. Or that's how I see it. It just feels right to me for there to be some kind of penalty that takes a while to heal. Your mileage may vary. Actually, a partial copy of your personality has been crushed. Making a new copy of that portion of your mind and sending it out doesnt really seem like that big of a deal. If you copy part of a file into a seperate file and then delete the new partial copy does it put a strain on the original file? How much exp do you deduct from a character who has their schism dispelled? Since that is a much larger fraction I would assume that the cost is at least a factor of 10 greater than with the psicrystal.
forsaken1111 02-19-08, 05:09 PM	Is that also necessary to create the crystal in the first place? The 100gp in materials is required. The 24 hour wait time is not needed for the first one.
Lycanthromancer 02-19-08, 05:17 PM	The 100gp in materials is required. The 24 hour wait time is not needed for the first one.That means you don't have to take the Psicrystal Affinity feat, right? Since wizards don't have to take a feat for their familiars, but have to pay 100 gp?
forsaken1111 02-19-08, 05:31 PM	That means you don't have to take the Psicrystal Affinity feat, right? Since wizards don't have to take a feat for their familiars, but have to pay 100 gp? Correct. You take the feat, deduct 100gp worth of 'materials', spend a few minutes alone and poof, you have a pet rock. If pet rock gets crushed you wait 24 hours, spend 100gp, and poof you have a new rock.
Scion of Coldshard 02-19-08, 05:41 PM	forsaken1111: You said correct to Lycanthromancer and then said the opposite of what he said in regards to the feat cost. Why is that? I certainly wouldnt mind being able to get a psicrystal without having to spend the feat! Just toss down 100 gp? Great!
Lycanthromancer 02-19-08, 05:45 PM	And yet having to spend money to get the benefits of a feat that I've taken (that isn't an item creation feat) is horrible. Psicrystals are useful, but c'mon.
forsaken1111 02-20-08, 01:21 AM	Sorry I was a bit tired when I wrote that. I just looked at our house rules document and you only have to pay to replace, not to get it initially. Not that 100gp is anything worth worrying about anyway once you're above what, 5th level?
CrimsonDeath 02-20-08, 02:29 AM	But then, a lot of people take Psicrystal Affinity at level 1.
AntiDjinn 02-20-08, 03:54 AM	A gold piece cost, especially a fixed cost, is a shaky way to achieve balance. At first level a cost of 100 gp practically locks you out. At the 5 to 10 range it is pretty easy to afford, little more than an annoyance. Past 10th level, you could spend more on a 5 star meal. At epic levels your character probably owns monogrammed hankies that cost more than that. Yet the benefits you achieve from the pet rock get better with level. As far as penalty to the character; the time spent without the benefits granted by the feat and without the spying capacity are detrimental enough. If a character temporarily lost the benefit of his Dodge feat, would people be wondering if there ought to be penalties beyond the simple loss of the ability to improve your AC by 1 vs. a designated opponent?
hogarth 02-20-08, 07:30 AM	I allow my characters to use Retraining (PHB II) to Retrain Psicrystal for...the same feat. THey can do this once a level and it restricts retraining other options, which I think is balanced. Also, Psychic Reformation can let you swap feats. Swap Psicrystal for itself. This costs you XP (the more the higher level you are), which I think is balanced. Both are RAW ways of recovering Psicrystals...nowhere does it say you can't replace a feat with itself. Hey, I kind of like this idea. Much more reasonable than "a year and a day" or "24 hours", IMO.
Scion of Coldshard 02-20-08, 12:55 PM	Hey, I kind of like this idea. Much more reasonable than "a year and a day" or "24 hours", IMO. I find exp costs to be very unreasonable. I also find that levels take a very variable amount of time to gain and as such anything that refreshes based on gaining levels is unreasonable. Just a personal preference though ;)