Halford
First Post
While I appreciate your point Dire Tadpole, that it is an intelligent construct and should gain benefits as such I believe there are several points that make the intent clear - although the rules are not.
If it were in fact supposed to gain abilities as a leveled up construct it ought also to gain saves as such. It does not.
If it were in fact supposed to gain abilities as a leveled up construct it ought also to gain skills as such. It does not.
If it were in fact supposed to gain abilities as a leveled up construct it ought also to gain hp as such. It does not.
All of these things are exactly the same as a familiar.
I play a Psion in a game where all the books are allowed and my group considers Kiro, my Psi-crystal, to be vastly overpowered without feats.
The argument that Psi-crstals cost a feat to get and as such should be better than familiars is also highly suspect in my book. A Psi-crystal is effectively three feats for the price of one, you gain alertness, the personality benefit all of which are as good as a feat in their own right, and a Psi-crystal. If there is a better feat available please let me know what it is because I'll be damned if I can think of one! Improved Familiar is not on a par in my view as it takes away the familiar benefit, the choices are limited by alignment, and it requires a more coveted higher level feat slot - I believe you still keep alertness? Psi-crystals are of course available at first level.
Lets take the example of that earth elemental and compare it to a ninth level Psi-crystal, because effectively that is whn a creature available at 7th level becomes available due to feat progression. The Psi-crystal is more durable, thanks to hardness, can fly, can converse with and translate for any creature with a language, and can enable silent telepathic communication between the party at will. The earth elemental can earth glide - which is not to be sniifed at.
It is also worth noteing that in the Psi-crystal advancement entry there is a dash. To me this very clearly implies that they advance only in the same manner as familiars.
Additionally there has never been a Psion published by Wizards with a Psi-crystal advanced with feats.
The real question is are Psi-crystals supposed to be close analogues of familiars or not. I think it is clear that they are, they were even gained as a class feature back in 3rd edition, and even by that interpretation they are far superior.
If it were in fact supposed to gain abilities as a leveled up construct it ought also to gain saves as such. It does not.
If it were in fact supposed to gain abilities as a leveled up construct it ought also to gain skills as such. It does not.
If it were in fact supposed to gain abilities as a leveled up construct it ought also to gain hp as such. It does not.
All of these things are exactly the same as a familiar.
I play a Psion in a game where all the books are allowed and my group considers Kiro, my Psi-crystal, to be vastly overpowered without feats.
The argument that Psi-crstals cost a feat to get and as such should be better than familiars is also highly suspect in my book. A Psi-crystal is effectively three feats for the price of one, you gain alertness, the personality benefit all of which are as good as a feat in their own right, and a Psi-crystal. If there is a better feat available please let me know what it is because I'll be damned if I can think of one! Improved Familiar is not on a par in my view as it takes away the familiar benefit, the choices are limited by alignment, and it requires a more coveted higher level feat slot - I believe you still keep alertness? Psi-crystals are of course available at first level.
Lets take the example of that earth elemental and compare it to a ninth level Psi-crystal, because effectively that is whn a creature available at 7th level becomes available due to feat progression. The Psi-crystal is more durable, thanks to hardness, can fly, can converse with and translate for any creature with a language, and can enable silent telepathic communication between the party at will. The earth elemental can earth glide - which is not to be sniifed at.
It is also worth noteing that in the Psi-crystal advancement entry there is a dash. To me this very clearly implies that they advance only in the same manner as familiars.
Additionally there has never been a Psion published by Wizards with a Psi-crystal advanced with feats.
The real question is are Psi-crystals supposed to be close analogues of familiars or not. I think it is clear that they are, they were even gained as a class feature back in 3rd edition, and even by that interpretation they are far superior.
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