Psicrystal whose owner takes Imp Psicry a lot: colorful, bland, or crazy personality? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Psicrystal whose owner takes Imp Psicry a lot: colorful, bland, or crazy personality? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
JulesCARV
09-30-07, 12:22 AM If you had a psionicist who took the improved psicrystal feat many times, implanting a lot of different personalities into the psicrystal, what do you think the psicrystal would be like?

Would it be a very bland, "average" personality, all of the different facets basically blending into a sort of "generic John Doe" personality?

Would it be a very "colorful" character, prone to swings in attitude and displays of different facets, showing different sides to itself in different situations, being a friendly socialite at parties, a confident warrior in battle, a menacing thug in interrogations, a stealthy scout while spying, etc?

Would it be kind of crazy, with all of the personalities fighting with each other and generally being screwed up?

Or would it be something else that I didn't think of?

Or could it be any of the four above, depending on circumstances?
AntiDjinn
09-30-07, 01:40 AM According to the feat itself: "Your psicrystal's personality adjusts and becomes a blend between all implanted personality fragments." You don't get a schizo pet rock, you get one with a more varied mindset. Note that it does not say that you can only get the personality benefits one at a time. So a Hero-Nimble-Observant crystal give you simultaneous bonuses to initiative, fortitude saves, and spot checks. All personalities and associated benefits are always on. It does actually get smarted and tougher since each time you take the feat your level is considered one higher for purposes of determining psicrystal benefits. It can also start flying, benefiting from power resistance, and other specials that many levels sooner.
Slagger the Chuul
09-30-07, 02:19 AM According to the feat itself: "Your psicrystal's personality adjusts and becomes a blend between all implanted personality fragments." You don't get a schizo pet rock, you get one with a more varied mindset.

I think that's really up to personal flavour; you could have a more balanced personality, or your blend could produce a psicrystal with multiple personality disorder.
AntiDjinn
09-30-07, 02:26 AM MPD implies that only one personality is dominant at a time. The fact that you accrue all benefits from all implanted personality types simultaneously indicates that they are all active 24/7. Internal struggles might be a factor for RP and fluff, but as far as crunch you get all the benefits listed without having to ask your pet rock to sort its head out. Maybe they are all struggling for control, but they toggle in an out of the dominant spot so fast that there is effectively no lapse in any of your benefits, but the overall effect is you get the benefits you spent feats for as long as the rock is in range.
Salla
09-30-07, 02:27 AM Never mind, misread.
InkBlot
09-30-07, 01:15 PM I would roleplay the psicrystal as becoming more and more like a real person, with a nuanced and multifaceted personality. For example, if the psicrystal was an observant sage sympathetic lying heroic coward, then I would play him like (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-1-42439322) Uncle (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-2-42439516) Iroh (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-3-42439676). The psicrystal would be motivated by the urge to help and protect people, but rather than a direct confrontation it would rather watch and get to know people then guide them along the right path with wise proverbs and carefully crafted deceptions.

When figuring out how to combine personalities, it might help to divide them into passive and active traits. E.g.; bully is an active trait, while artiste is a passive trait, so they're not competing. You can be a bully at the same time as being an artist without any difficulty. On the other hand, heroic and bully are both active traits, making them much more difficult to combine (but still possible!).
Internal struggles might be a factor for RP and fluff, but as far as crunch you get all the benefits listed without having to ask your pet rock to sort its head out. Maybe they are all struggling for control, but they toggle in an out of the dominant spot so fast that there is effectively no lapse in any of your benefits, but the overall effect is you get the benefits you spent feats for as long as the rock is in range.

Nobody here is talking about the mechanical benefits but you.
Slagger the Chuul
09-30-07, 03:40 PM Well, assuming you went for multiple personalities, they'd only need to switch whenever their benefits were applicable (plus some general switching).

For example, you're creeping down a corridor, with the sneaky personality whispering in your mind, when suddenly you hear voices up ahead. With this extra stimulus, the hero personality breaks in, insisting that you should burst upon these people and take them by surprise, flipping back and forth with the sneaky personality as it argues for discretion.

Of course, if you decided to have a blend for those same two personalities (sneaky and hero), you'd have a psicrystal that keeps telling you to act like Batman. :)
Lycanthromancer
09-30-07, 03:52 PM ...then I would play him like (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-1-42439322) Uncle (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-2-42439516) Iroh (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-3-42439676).
Whoa. I likes. Are those posted in a webcomic somewheres? I wants it, my preciousssss...
InkBlot
09-30-07, 04:00 PM Not as far as I know. But RuffToon (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/) does have more Avatar fancomics in her gallery (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/gallery/).

DeviantArt is a hotbed of Avatar fandom. Try putting Zutara AU in the devArt search bar.
Crake
09-30-07, 08:53 PM So does anybody have an idea what combination of personalities would give you Pintsize (http://questionablecontent.net/cast.php)?
nobodez
10-01-07, 12:26 PM So does anybody have an idea what combination of personalities would give you Pintsize (http://questionablecontent.net/cast.php)?

I think that's what happens when you use all your feats on Improved Psicrystal. A 20th level human psychic warrior can get 15 improved psicrystal feats, giving 16 personalities, enough for all of them and one extra sage personality.

Or, that's what happens when you forget to declare a personality.
awaken_D_M_golem
10-02-07, 05:12 PM inkblot - I would roleplay the psicrystal as becoming more and more like a real person, with a nuanced and multifaceted personality.

nobodez - giving 16 personalities, enough for all of them and one extra sage personality.

From Star Trek, between B4, early Data, and later Data, you get a progression.
B4 = early psicrystal
early Data = nuanced and multifaceted later psicrystal
late Data = one (more) extra sage personality ; one (more,more) extra sage personality epic psicrystal
Although, obviously, the originating Psion(?) forms the foundation of the "person"-ality.

Later, the master dies, and the psicrystal feels lonely, aww. :weep:

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JulesCARV 09-30-07, 12:22 AM	If you had a psionicist who took the improved psicrystal feat many times, implanting a lot of different personalities into the psicrystal, what do you think the psicrystal would be like? Would it be a very bland, "average" personality, all of the different facets basically blending into a sort of "generic John Doe" personality? Would it be a very "colorful" character, prone to swings in attitude and displays of different facets, showing different sides to itself in different situations, being a friendly socialite at parties, a confident warrior in battle, a menacing thug in interrogations, a stealthy scout while spying, etc? Would it be kind of crazy, with all of the personalities fighting with each other and generally being screwed up? Or would it be something else that I didn't think of? Or could it be any of the four above, depending on circumstances?
AntiDjinn 09-30-07, 01:40 AM	According to the feat itself: "Your psicrystal's personality adjusts and becomes a blend between all implanted personality fragments." You don't get a schizo pet rock, you get one with a more varied mindset. Note that it does not say that you can only get the personality benefits one at a time. So a Hero-Nimble-Observant crystal give you simultaneous bonuses to initiative, fortitude saves, and spot checks. All personalities and associated benefits are always on. It does actually get smarted and tougher since each time you take the feat your level is considered one higher for purposes of determining psicrystal benefits. It can also start flying, benefiting from power resistance, and other specials that many levels sooner.
Slagger the Chuul 09-30-07, 02:19 AM	According to the feat itself: "Your psicrystal's personality adjusts and becomes a blend between all implanted personality fragments." You don't get a schizo pet rock, you get one with a more varied mindset. I think that's really up to personal flavour; you could have a more balanced personality, or your blend could produce a psicrystal with multiple personality disorder.
AntiDjinn 09-30-07, 02:26 AM	MPD implies that only one personality is dominant at a time. The fact that you accrue all benefits from all implanted personality types simultaneously indicates that they are all active 24/7. Internal struggles might be a factor for RP and fluff, but as far as crunch you get all the benefits listed without having to ask your pet rock to sort its head out. Maybe they are all struggling for control, but they toggle in an out of the dominant spot so fast that there is effectively no lapse in any of your benefits, but the overall effect is you get the benefits you spent feats for as long as the rock is in range.
Salla 09-30-07, 02:27 AM	Never mind, misread.
InkBlot 09-30-07, 01:15 PM	I would roleplay the psicrystal as becoming more and more like a real person, with a nuanced and multifaceted personality. For example, if the psicrystal was an observant sage sympathetic lying heroic coward, then I would play him like (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-1-42439322) Uncle (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-2-42439516) Iroh (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-3-42439676). The psicrystal would be motivated by the urge to help and protect people, but rather than a direct confrontation it would rather watch and get to know people then guide them along the right path with wise proverbs and carefully crafted deceptions. When figuring out how to combine personalities, it might help to divide them into passive and active traits. E.g.; bully is an active trait, while artiste is a passive trait, so they're not competing. You can be a bully at the same time as being an artist without any difficulty. On the other hand, heroic and bully are both active traits, making them much more difficult to combine (but still possible!). Internal struggles might be a factor for RP and fluff, but as far as crunch you get all the benefits listed without having to ask your pet rock to sort its head out. Maybe they are all struggling for control, but they toggle in an out of the dominant spot so fast that there is effectively no lapse in any of your benefits, but the overall effect is you get the benefits you spent feats for as long as the rock is in range. Nobody here is talking about the mechanical benefits but you.
Slagger the Chuul 09-30-07, 03:40 PM	Well, assuming you went for multiple personalities, they'd only need to switch whenever their benefits were applicable (plus some general switching). For example, you're creeping down a corridor, with the sneaky personality whispering in your mind, when suddenly you hear voices up ahead. With this extra stimulus, the hero personality breaks in, insisting that you should burst upon these people and take them by surprise, flipping back and forth with the sneaky personality as it argues for discretion. Of course, if you decided to have a blend for those same two personalities (sneaky and hero), you'd have a psicrystal that keeps telling you to act like Batman. :)
Lycanthromancer 09-30-07, 03:52 PM	...then I would play him like (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-1-42439322) Uncle (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-2-42439516) Iroh (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/art/Deception-3-42439676). Whoa. I likes. Are those posted in a webcomic somewheres? I wants it, my preciousssss...
InkBlot 09-30-07, 04:00 PM	Not as far as I know. But RuffToon (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/) does have more Avatar fancomics in her gallery (http://rufftoon.deviantart.com/gallery/). DeviantArt is a hotbed of Avatar fandom. Try putting Zutara AU in the devArt search bar.
Crake 09-30-07, 08:53 PM	So does anybody have an idea what combination of personalities would give you Pintsize (http://questionablecontent.net/cast.php)?
nobodez 10-01-07, 12:26 PM	So does anybody have an idea what combination of personalities would give you Pintsize (http://questionablecontent.net/cast.php)? I think that's what happens when you use all your feats on Improved Psicrystal. A 20th level human psychic warrior can get 15 improved psicrystal feats, giving 16 personalities, enough for all of them and one extra sage personality. Or, that's what happens when you forget to declare a personality.
awaken_D_M_golem 10-02-07, 05:12 PM	inkblot - I would roleplay the psicrystal as becoming more and more like a real person, with a nuanced and multifaceted personality. nobodez - giving 16 personalities, enough for all of them and one extra sage personality. From Star Trek, between B4, early Data, and later Data, you get a progression. B4 = early psicrystal early Data = nuanced and multifaceted later psicrystal late Data = one (more) extra sage personality ; one (more,more) extra sage personality epic psicrystal Although, obviously, the originating Psion(?) forms the foundation of the "person"-ality. Later, the master dies, and the psicrystal feels lonely, aww. :weep: