Post/Author/DateTime	Post
vahju 07-16-07, 07:13 PM	Right around page 160 of XPH is the list of items for magic/psionic transparency. In that list it states "pearls of power" act as "cognizance crystal" of the same level. I understand that part but what is confusing to me is that pearls of power automatically recharge the next day for wizards. Why should this not be the same for Psionic user that have access to one of these items? Or why shouldn't cognizance crystals work the same way as pearls of power with regards to means of recharging. I tried to search the forums but got way to many results with the keywords I used. Anybody aware of official rulings on the recharging of cognizance crystals beside using your own points.
Tempest Stormwind 07-16-07, 07:22 PM	Because psionics gets poorer support than magic. Really, that's about it. Note that a pearl of power also doesn't require a separate feat to create.
CrimsonDeath 07-16-07, 08:24 PM	So... If a psion uses a Pearl of Power as a Cognizance Crystal, does it recharge automatically? If not, can a wizard use it before the psion recharges it?
Tempest Stormwind 07-16-07, 08:25 PM	So... If a psion uses a Pearl of Power as a Cognizance Crystal, does it recharge automatically? If not, can a wizard use it before the psion recharges it? As written, the answers are respectively "no" and "the rules are quiet but imply yes". It works as a cognizance crystal, meaning it doesn't auto-recharge. There's nothing in the rules preventing it from functioning as a pearl if it's been depleted as a crystal, though it isn't explicit.
vahju 07-16-07, 09:50 PM	Do we think house ruling that "pearls of power" used as cognizance crystals automatically recharge the next day is too powerful?
Tempest Stormwind 07-16-07, 09:57 PM	Probably not. But we'll never hear it from WotC.
The_Ditto 07-17-07, 08:42 AM	Although I do agree with Tempest as far the rules as written go ... (and to the side: ARRRRRRGGHHHHH :banghead: ) ... just wanted to let you know what we did in our group - and it worked well. Unfortunately, the group was still a bit "anti-psionic" .. but at least they allowed me my Wilder .. so I'm not complaining .. :tiphat: - Cog Crystals still required seperate feat .. - Cog Crystals still required manually recharging. - Pearls of power auto-recharged each day. - Pearls: spell level / pp overlapped. So: a 4th level Pearl of Power would also have 7 pp. If, however, I drained it of 3 pp .. it would have 4 pp left ... it would (effectively) act as a 2nd level Pearl of Power if used by the wizard or druid in the party. if they used it next, it would have 1 pp left .. and I could still drain it of that .. (or they could drain it of a 1st level spell ..) It did make them more useful ... but I liked the flexibility it added ...
DrMorganes 07-17-07, 09:31 AM	I'm going to disagree with Tempest on this one. "Acting like" implies similarity between two nouns, but does not mean one IS the other. My interpretation is twofold, depending on whether a given DM enforces Magic/Psionics Transparency. If M/PT is enforced, then psionics is just a different way to work magic. In that instance, a psion with a Pearl of Power should be allowed to use the Pearl again the next day. Point of fact, the SRD references a Pearl of Power being used in this manner in the variant spell point rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/spellPoints.htm) for arcane magic. Psionics is nothing more than this spell point system in a different wrapper. If M/PT is NOT enforced, than psionics are fundamentally different than magic. This makes for some very interesting gaming possibilities pitting psionics and magic (both arcane and divine) in some sort of struggle. I really like the idea that psionic characters can interact with certain magic items in different ways, and that magic using characters can interact differently with certain psionic items. A psionic character takes the wizard's Pearl of Power and permanently drains its potential to power a single manifestation. A wizard (or cleric, etc) discovers that this odd little gem he found on a defeated psion works just like a Pearl of Power.
AntiDjinn 07-17-07, 10:48 AM	If you are using the random treasure generation tables, then the items are nothing alike. According to the table on page 161 of the XPH, approximately 15-30% off all psionic items found will be cog crystals. Using the tables from the DMG, 9-21% off magic items found will be wondrous items, and about 2% of any given set of wondrous items will be a pearl of power. So if you are not making the items yourself, nor paying someone to make them for you, it is OK for them to perform differently. By the tables the average psion should have buckets full of cog crystals while the average wizard should rarely see a pearl of power. The reason cog crystals make up such a huge fraction of random psionic treasure is supposedly that they require a separate feat to craft. Since a universal item and a cog crystal each take a specific feat, it may have seemed reasonable that there are about as many cog crystals laying around as all universal items combined. In actual play this make the feat to craft cog crystals almost worthless; I am certainly not taking a feat to make an item (for that matter, I am not paying a vendor gold for it either) that is so common that I can practically count on one being in every 3rd or 4th set of treasure taken off a psionic foe.
Fleem 07-17-07, 12:31 PM	If they work the same, whether created by a wizard or a psion, it's definitely better to skip the feat and let the wizards create them. Maybe most of the existing cognizance crystals are actually pears of power which someone has painted, lacquered, and polished, then fobbed off as cognizance crystals to salve the wounded psionic pride.
Zemyla 07-17-07, 01:54 PM	Also, cognizance crystals weigh a pound. Pearls of power have no weight.
jago668 07-17-07, 02:52 PM	We just used Pearls of Power in the their place (house rule). You could still make them if you wanted as a psion but nobody ever did.