Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Syrkres 07-13-07, 01:29 PM	Ok, when a Psion(or more specifically a Erudite) who currently has a Psicrystal named Cerebrex, dies? Does it become a free willed Psicrystal? Does it retain all it's previous levels/hd/feats that it gained while under the guidence of it's master? Or does it lose them? Dose it disolve away? ( guess it goes into how was it originally formed)? Does it hate the party? How does it feel towards them? Does any of the personality of the master still exist in it? It was his split personality after all...
Fleem 07-13-07, 01:54 PM	If a psicrystal no longer has a master, it has half of 0 hit points, which would be 0, which would kill a construct. Since it's a fragment of your personality, it would seem appropriate that it die with you, and come back if you're raised.
Racinante 07-13-07, 02:10 PM	If a psicrystal no longer has a master, it has half of 0 hit points, which would be 0, which would kill a construct. Since it's a fragment of your personality, it would seem appropriate that it die with you, and come back if you're raised. I agree that it vanishes when you die, but your reasoning is flawed. Based on your argument, the psicrystal always has half your hit points, which means that unless you are killed or reduced to 1 or fewer hp, the psicrystal cannot be killed. If you are dead, then you are an object and have no feats and can have no benefit from any feats. Since the psicrystal is a benefit of a feat, it ceases to exist once you are no longer a creature. What happens once you are resurrected is conjecture. I would say that you would have to obtain a new psicrystal in the same way that you obtained the old.
Despana 07-13-07, 03:09 PM	What happens once you are resurrected is conjecture. I would say that you would have to obtain a new psicrystal in the same way that you obtained the old. And how exactly did that occur? Besides taking the feat I mean. Or did you mean that every time the character dies they have to retake a redundant feat? I had an erudite die not too long ago (bloody disintegrate). We just said that the psicrystal turned into a mundane (and worthless) shiny pebble. The character refused resurrection, so I can't give experience on that part, but I imagine the psicrystal's personality would have come back with my own.
Racinante 07-13-07, 03:17 PM	And how exactly did that occur? Besides taking the feat I mean. Or did you mean that every time the character dies they have to retake a redundant feat? I had an erudite die not too long ago (bloody disintegrate). We just said that the psicrystal turned into a mundane (and worthless) shiny pebble. The character refused resurrection, so I can't give experience on that part, but I imagine the psicrystal's personality would have come back with my own. You would not need to take the feat again. If you took the feat originally and presto, chango the psicrystal appeared, then it would again just appear. If you had to meditate or jump up and down three times, then you would need to meditate or jump up and down three times. How you got your first psicrystal is more flavor than rules. Just do whatever you did when you first got the feat, which may be nothing at all. If you die, then the psicrystal vanishes as it is made from nothing but part of your own personality. A psicrystal is a fragment of a psionic character's personality, brought into physical form and a semblance of life (via the Psicrystal Affinity feat). Needing a gem or crystal was from 3.0.
Scion of Coldshard 07-13-07, 03:33 PM	Hmm.. lets take a wild trip of fancy and speculation ;) Psicrystal Affinity [Psionic] You have created a psicrystal. Prerequisites Manifester level 1st. Benefit This feat allows you to gain a psicrystal. So, you have created a psicrystal and you gain it. Ok, it is now in existance. You die, taking away your masterly benefits.. the psicrystals hp and hd both depend on its master, which it does not have.. what other aspect in the rules tells us about something that is not there.. How about ability scores? If you do not have one you have a - which is different than a 0. So if the psicrystal has no master then it has a - for hd and hp. It also cannot provide its own locomotion so it is basically a rock with an int, wis, and cha. BAB -, hardness 8, construct traits... not really a good day for it. So one could say it is still around.. it cannot be killed (cannot be reduced to 0 or less hp and it is a construct so there go save or dies), it cannot move, it cannot interact, it cannot see, but it can think... This does not look good for the psicrystal.
Racinante 07-13-07, 03:58 PM	Hmm.. lets take a wild trip of fancy and speculation ;) Certainly... You die, taking away your masterly benefits.. the psicrystals hp and hd both depend on its master, which it does not have.. And here is the problem. When do you determine its hp, HD and other benefits defined on its master's level? At creation? At level up? Daily? Continuosly? If at creation, then its abilities would not change as you level up, and since most of the abilities are based on your level in psionic classes, this option does not fit with the rule implications. If continuously, then taking damage is irrelevant as the psicrystal always has half your hp and HD equal to yours, so only damage and level loss you take would impact the crystal. If at level up, then any level loss affecting its master would not have any impact on the psicrystal. Interesting, but still not what is implied by the rest of the entry. If daily, then the psicrystal automatically heals back up to normal once a day, presumably when you rest and reacquire your focus and power points. If you are not healed up, then your Psicrystal starts with less hit points as well, and if your constitution is improved prior to this time of day, your psicrystal has additional hp. Every option is problematic. At its master's death, the creation and level up options leave you with a psicrystal that is still walking around, unguided, until destroyed. Daily leaves you with a psicrystal that is still walking around, unguided, until the next day. Continuously immediately kills the construct. Eliminating the benefit of all feats when the master dies seems like the cleanest solution. Objects cannot have feats and cannot benefit from their own feats, so the psicrystal doesn't exist. If it leaves some relic behind, that's fine for flavor, but not necessary by the rules. what other aspect in the rules tells us about something that is not there.. How about ability scores? If you do not have one you have a - which is different than a 0. So if the psicrystal has no master then it has a - for hd and hp. Which, for HD and hp are not defined. So the psicrystal itself is undefined and does not exist. It also cannot provide its own locomotion so it is basically a rock with an int, wis, and cha. BAB -, hardness 8, construct traits... not really a good day for it. So one could say it is still around.. it cannot be killed (cannot be reduced to 0 or less hp and it is a construct so there go save or dies), it cannot move, it cannot interact, it cannot see, but it can think... This does not look good for the psicrystal. If, indeed, there is a physical representation of the former psicrystal left, then yes it would have hardness 8, but no construct traits as it is no longer defined as a construct (constructs have HD). ;)
Thomar_of_Uointer 07-13-07, 10:08 PM	Ok, when a Psion(or more specifically a Erudite) who currently has a Psicrystal named Cerebrex, dies? Does it become a free willed Psicrystal? Does it retain all it's previous levels/hd/feats that it gained while under the guidence of it's master? Or does it lose them? Dose it disolve away? ( guess it goes into how was it originally formed)? Does it hate the party? How does it feel towards them? Does any of the personality of the master still exist in it? It was his split personality after all... The XPH does not specify what happens to a psicrystal when his master dies. As a DM, I would say that the psicrystal sticks around and remains a psicrystal exacly as it was when the psion was alive, but it will become inert (if sentient) crystal within 1 day. At that point, it's really up to the party to determine what to do with it. It will retain its telepathic speech ability (if it had it) as long as it remains within 1 mile of the psion's remains. Also, I would rule that the psicrystal is a valid target for a resurrection spell.
Jaid 07-13-07, 11:12 PM	the (unofficial) answer to this question can be found in a third party supplement written by a company that everyone seems to complain about when it's mentioned, notwithstanding the only reason it gets mentioned is because said third party company has an uncanny knack for providing solutions to the problems that come up on these boards over and over and over... (in fact, you'd almost think that they spent years on these boards discussing these questions, got really hopeful when they heard about complete psionic, and then became so disappointed in all of the things that CPsi *didn't* cover that they started a publishing company and have been making psionics material ever since...) for those of you who seem to find it so offensive, the company is Dreamscarred Press and the product is High Psionics: Psicrystals Expanded, as i recall.
Tealgorthian 07-14-07, 12:30 AM	You know. I think I am going to have my players kill an evil Psion with a Heroic Psicrystal. Have the crystal live on, and seek to avenge the wrongful death of its master. That.. would be fun.
angellis_ater 07-14-07, 04:14 AM	Tealgorthian - take a look at the suggestion Jaid made above and you'll find some interesting options for that Heroic crystal of yours ;-)
Syrkres 07-15-07, 08:39 AM	Well, from the Monster Manual entry for Psicrystals, I had assumed that there were "free" roaming Psicrystals about. I mean, why would they create a "monster" entry when it's not a monster it's a Psicrystal. A party would/should really never encounter one, I mean, honestly how many have sent their's out to do combat? Unless, when a Psionic caster dies who had a psicrystal, the crystal lives on some how? I mean if you think about it, it really can't be linked directly to your HP, because every time you would take damage it takes damage? This makes it even less likely you would send it into combat, because it it took one more hit than you, death. Also if you ever go unconscious below 0 hit points, what happens to it. Constructs, can go below 0 hit points (IIRC). That also is the problem with it being at the start of a new day, because some times with poisons and such, party members may put you in stasis, till they can find the proper healing. And with GMs that rule on creating a new Psicrystal ( I know all GMs don't rule the same way), anything that kills the Psicrystal off, no mater how it dies, is going to make the feat totally useless/worthless to them. Having the Psicrystal around may make it easier for a true ressurection too? Possibly? just thinking out of the box here... Just other thoughts...
Slagger the Chuul 07-15-07, 10:55 AM	With regard to hit points, the distinction that should be made is that the psicrystal has half of its master's hit points as a base, or maximum. In other words, its base hit points (undamaged) are equal to half of its master's hit points (undamaged). However, damage taken by either the psicrystal or the master reduces this quantity separately for each. If it were written a little more literally, the reference to half master's hit points would properly say that the psicrystal's maximum hit points are equal to half its master's maximum hit points.
thepsionicbard 07-15-07, 01:19 PM	i would think it becomes inert. if found maby it could be attuned to a new psion kind of like a Psicrystal mentor. it would still have the personality, memories, and level of the origanal psion at time of death:D