Question about Mind Switch, True and other Telepath concerns

[harikus]

So a friend of mine started a campaign a little bit back, we started off at level 5, and were encouraged to play Tier 3 and above. We have about 4 players total. I asked the DM if I could roll an Spell to Power Erudite and he said go for it. We are now about level 9, we are all having a great time, but I have never played a Psionic before and I was looking through the Telepath section to get ideas. I ran into this power known as Mind Switch, True and it made me wonder about something.

My Spell to Power Erudite is a Sun Elf. We have ran into what appears to be a reoccurring Rival Party of powerful NPCs each meeting so far. One of them happens to be a very sturdy and agile Tiefling Martial character (he seems to be a Fighter or Ranger). Let's say that we encounter this group much later and I manage to grab that Mind Switch power. If I take over his body, what happens to my stats? Is it akin to a shapechange that allows me to keep my INT, WIS and CHA while gaining his STR, DEX and CON? Also, do I lose my racial -2 CON penalty while gaining a his racial -2 CHA penalty and +2 DEX bonus? Would I gain his +1 level adjustment? There is also the problem of me not wanting to be immediately gutted like a fish while he is in my Elf Body so if I had an ally cast Imprisonment, would that count as not technically killing him so I don't lose a level? This is all hypothetical of course. My goal would be maybe to find an even more suitable host body if possible, and hopefully without sending all of my loot and gear into permanent stasis. Also..would you consider such an act to be more of a neutral since we would already be killing them as aggressors, or would this be evil?

Another issue I noticed is how mind effecting spells in old campaigns were rendered seemingly irrelevant when we ran into outsiders. Do Psionic characters have a way around this?

 

[harikus]

Bump

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

True Mind Switch states that it is like Mind Switch.

Mind Switch reads, in part,
"You possess the target’s body..."
"You gain the type of your assumed body."
"You gain the Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores of your assumed body."

True Mind Switch says, in part,
"If your natural body dies while the subject is in it, you immediately lose one level, but you likewise survive the experience in your new body."

So you lose your racial adjustments, gain that body's racial adjustments, along with keeping all those physical scores. You'd keep your mental scores. If he doesn't die in your old body, you don't lose the level. So, however you ensure he doesn't die, should work.

We had a Psion in one campaign who's (Player's) ambition was to True Mind Switch into a Black Dragon. The DM was all for it, the game just never got that far. Have fun!

Not every Psionic Power is Mind Effecting. Some, like Crystal Shard, just kill stuff. Plenty are buffs. Or Battlefield Control like Psionic Grease. The mind is the source of the power, but Psionics are as diverse as Arcane spells, you just need to become familiar with your Powers List. the fact that you're a Spell to Power Erudite means you've got plenty more options that won't need to fall into the Mind Effecting category.

 

[harikus]

Awesome. I think It'd be worth the level adjustment to have his physical stats. And my con penalty is harder than I thought it'd be.

I'm loving my build so far!