Psicrystals
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). A psicrystal appears as a crystalline construct about the size of a human hand. Complete statistics for the psicrystal can be found on Psicrystal.
Because it is an extension of its creator's personality, a character's psicrystal is in some ways a part of him. That's why, for example, a psionic character can manifest a personal range power on his psicrystal even though normally he can manifest such a power only on himself.
A psicrystal is treated as a construct for the purposes of all effects that depend on its type.
A psicrystal grants special abilities to its owner, as shown on the Psicrystal Special Abilities table below. In addition, a psicrystal has a personality (being a fragment of the owner's personality), which gives its owner a bonus on certain types of checks or saving throws, as given on the Psicrystal Personalities table below. These special abilities and bonuses apply only when the owner and the psicrystal are within 1 mile of each other.
Psicrystal abilities are based on the owner's levels in psionic classes. Levels from other classes do not count toward the owner's level for purposes of psicrystal abilities.
A psicrystal can speak one language of its owner's choice (so long as it is a language the owner knows). A psicrystal can understand all other languages known by its owner, but cannot speak them. This is a supernatural ability.
Psicrystal Basics: Use the statistics for a Psicrystal, but make the following changes.
Saving Throws: A psicrystal uses its owner's base saving throw bonuses and ability modifiers on saves, though it doesn't enjoy any other bonuses its owner might have (from magic items or feats, for example).
Abilities: When its self-propulsion ability is not activated, a psicrystal has no Strength score and no Dexterity score.
Skills: A psicrystal has the same skill ranks as its owner, except that it has a minimum of 4 ranks each in Spot, Listen, Move Silently, and Search. (Even if its owner has no ranks in these skills, a psicrystal has 4 ranks in each.) A psicrystal uses its own ability modifiers on skill checks.
| Psicrystal Special Abilities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner Level | Natural Armor Adj | Int Adj. | Special |
| 1st-2nd | +0 | +0 | Alertness, improved evasion, personality, self-propulsion, share powers, sighted, telepathic link |
| 3rd-4th | +1 | +1 | Deliver touch powers |
| 5th-6th | +2 | +2 | Telepathic speech |
| 7th-8th | +3 | +3 | - |
| 9th-10th | +4 | +4 | Flight |
| 11th-12th | +5 | +5 | Power resistance |
| 13th-14th | +6 | +6 | Sight link |
| 15th-16th | +7 | +7 | Channel power |
| 17th-18th | +8 | +8 | |
| 19th-20th | +9 | +9 | |
Psicrystal Ability Descriptions: All psicrystals have special abilities (or impart abilities to their owners) depending on the level of the owner, as shown on the table above. The abilities on the table are cumulative.
Natural Armor Adj. (Ex): This number noted here is an improvement to the psicrystal's natural armor bonus (normally 0). It represents a psicrystal's preternatural durability.
Intelligence Adj. (Ex): Add this value to the psicrystal's Intelligence score. Psicrystals are as smart as people (though not necessarily as smart as smart people).
Alertness (Ex): The presence of a psicrystal sharpens its master's senses. While a psicrystal is within arm's reach (adjacent to or in the same square as its owner), its owner gains the Alertness feat.
Improved Evasion (Ex): If a psicrystal is subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, it takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage even if the saving throw fails.
Personality (Ex): Every psicrystal has a personality. See Psicrystal Personality, below.
Self-Propulsion (Su): As a standard action, its owner can will a psicrystal to form spidery, ectoplasmic legs that grant the psicrystal a land speed of 30 feet and a climb speed of 20 feet. The legs fade into nothingness after one day (or sooner, if the owner desires).
Share Powers (Su): At the owner's option, he can have any power (but not any psi-like ability) he manifests on himself also affect his psicrystal. The psicrystal must be within 5 feet of him at the time of the manifestation to receive the benefit. If the power has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the psicrystal if it moves farther than 5 feet away, and will not affect the psicrystal again, even if it returns to its owner before the duration expires. Additionally, the owner can manifest a power with a target of "You" on his psicrystal (as a touch range power) instead of on himself. The owner and psicrystal cannot share powers if the powers normally do not affect creatures of the psicrystal's type (construct).
Sighted (Ex): Although it has no physical sensory organs, a psicrystal can telepathically sense its environment as well as a creature with normal vision and hearing. Darkness (even supernatural darkness) is irrelevant, as are areas of supernatural silence, though a psicrystal still can't discern invisible or ethereal beings. A psicrystal's sighted range is 40 feet.
Telepathic Link (Su): The owner has a telepathic link with his psicrystal out to a distance of up to 1 mile. The owner cannot see through the psicrystal's senses, but the two of them can communicate telepathically as if the psicrystal were the target of a mindlink power manifested by the owner. For instance, a psicrystal placed in a distant room could relay the activities occurring in that room.
Because of the telepathic link between a psicrystal and its owner, the owner has the same connection to an item or place that the psicrystal does. For instance, if his psicrystal has seen a room, the owner can teleport into that room as if he has seen it too.
Deliver Touch Powers (Su): If the owner is 3rd level or higher, his psicrystal can deliver touch powers for him. If the owner and psicrystal are in contact at the time the owner manifests a touch power, he can designate his psicrystal as the "toucher." The psicrystal can then deliver the touch power just as the owner could. As usual, if the owner manifests another power before the touch is delivered, the touch power dissipates.
Telepathic Speech (Ex): If the owner is 5th level or higher, the psicrystal can communicate telepathically with any creature that has a language and is within 30 feet of the psicrystal, while the psicrystal is also within 1 mile of the owner.
Flight (Su): If the owner is 9th level or higher, he can, as a standard action, will his psicrystal to fly at a speed of 50 feet (poor). The psicrystal drifts gently to the ground after one day (or sooner, if the owner desires).
Power Resistance (Ex): If the owner is 11th level or higher, the psicrystal gains power resistance equal to the owner's level + 5. To affect the psicrystal with a power, another manifester must get a result on a manifester level check that equals or exceeds the psicrystal's power resistance.
Sight Link (Sp): If the owner is 13th level or higher, the character can remote view the psicrystal (as if manifesting the remote view power) once per day.
Channel Power (Sp): If the owner is 15th level or higher, he can manifest powers through the psicrystal to a distance of up to 1 mile. The psicrystal is treated as the power's originator, and all ranges are calculated from its location. When channeling a power through his psicrystal, the owner manifests the power by paying its power point cost. He is still subject to attacks of opportunity and other hazards of manifesting a power, if applicable (for instance, he becomes visible when manifesting an offensive power if invisible, as does the psicrystal).
Psicrystal Personality (Ex): Each psicrystal has a distinct personality, chosen by its owner at the time of its creation from among those given on the following table. At 1st level, its owner typically gets a feel for a psicrystal's personality only through occasional impulses, but as the owner increases in level the psicrystal's personality becomes more pronounced. At higher levels, uncommon for a psicrystal to constantly ply its owner with observations and advice, often severely slanted toward the psicrystal's particular worldview. The owner always sees a bit of himself in his psicrystal, even if magnified and therefore distorted.
| Psicrystal Personalities | |
|---|---|
| Personality | Benefit to Owner |
| Artiste | +3 bonus on Craft checks |
| Bully | +3 bonus on Intimidate checks |
| Coward | +3 bonus on Hide checks |
| Friendly | +3 bonus on Diplomacy checks |
| Hero | +2 bonus on Fortitude saves |
| Liar | +3 bonus on Bluff checks |
| Meticulous | +3 bonus on Search checks |
| Nimble | +2 bonus on Initiative checks |
| Observant | +3 bonus on Spot checks |
| Poised | +3 bonus on Balance checks |
| Resolved | +2 bonus on Will saves |
| Sage | +3 bonus on checks involving any one Knowledge skill owner already knows; once chosen, this does not vary |
| Single-minded | +3 bonus on Concentration checks |
| Sneaky | +3 bonus on Move Silently checks |
| Sympathetic | +3 bonus on Sense Motive checks |
Artiste: This splinter personality notes without humility that it is wonderfully talented in almost any "cultured" occupation, be it dancing, opera, or cooking. Equal parts truth and pretension make up this claim.
Bully: Sometimes bad seeds are still good for something. The bully splinter personality's overbearing harangues and constant insistence on getting its way can be trying, but its influence is sometimes handy for the owner.
Coward: Buried deep in everyone is a healthy dose of self-preservation. When captured and magnified, the essence of cowardliness aids the owner in finding safe harbor in dangerous situations. However, this psicrystal is far too eager to urge the owner to run and hide, even in not seriously dangerous situations.
Friendly: This splinter personality is disposed to promote the well-being of others - even of reviled enemies. The owner puts up with lectures on his hard-hearted ways, but in return he is better able to deal with creatures in a nonviolent manner.
Hero: We all want to be heroes, and the psicrystal with this implanted splinter personality is that desire personified. Given to urging the owner into dangerous situations, it pays back its owner with fortitude in moments of difficulty.
Liar: This psicrystal just can't help telling falsehoods, even to its owner - who knows all too well when it is prevaricating and when it is communicating truthfully. This inability to mislead its owner doesn't stop the psicrystal from lying anyway - and its lying ways can serve its owner in good stead when he is forced to stretch the truth himself.
Meticulous: A meticulous psicrystal has a hard time discerning between important details and those that are irrelevant. In describing itself, it would say it is "punctilious in its attention to the rules of etiquette, and furthermore marked by extreme care in the treatment of details." Sometimes maddening, this trait is at other times useful to the owner who attempts a precise study of his environment.
Nimble: Quick and dexterous, a nimble psicrystal is the perfect companion in any situation where reaction must follow on the heels of action. If anything, this splinter personality is a little too prone toward seeing potential danger in every shadow.
Observant: "Did you see that?" is the most common communication between an observant psicrystal and its owner. Sometimes a psicrystal with this personality enables its owner to note details he might have otherwise passed by.
Poised: The ability to be constantly aware of your body and how it interacts with your surroundings is something often lost in the welter of more important thoughts. Not so for this psicrystal, which is perfectly poised and sure of itself - if not its owner. It often preaches the importance of equilibrium and readiness for action.
Resolved: Resolution is a quality everyone wishes he or she had, and this psicrystal has it in spades. It is firm in purpose and belief, and its advice and observations are characterized by fierce determination. Or, as its owner might say, it is a stubborn so-and-so. Still, this unshakable faith aids the owner in all contests of will.
Sage: This splinter personality attempts to be a mentor to its owner, even though it is drawn from the owner's mind. Still, unfettered by any other personality type, the sage sees itself as the be-all, end-all master of all spiritual and philosophical topics (not to mention the area of knowledge in which it is especially skilled). Outside the scope of its particular area of expertise, the sage psicrystal's advice is sometimes suspect.
Single-Minded: A psicrystal with this personality has the ability to focus on the task at hand, ignoring all other environmental and emotional factors. Sometimes its owner has a difficult time getting the psicrystal's attention, but its influence also magnifies its owner's ability to concentrate.
Sneaky: Why announce your presence with loud footfalls when you could just as easily glide in with less noise than a breath of air? Or so asks the sneaky psicrystal, who believes wholeheartedly in the adage that silence is golden. It is given to hushing its owner - and its owner's companions. Still, its expertise in the area of quiet locomotion can't be denied.
Sympathetic: This personality allows a psicrystal to see into the hearts of other living things by putting itself in their shoes. Unfortunately, the psicrystal also spends a lot of time analyzing the owner and his companions, commenting on their mental states, and making pronouncements about the fitness of their actions. This personality can be useful, though, when the owner wants to determine the motives of a potential enemy.
Psion
Psionic Classes
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