The Ustilagor

[BOZ]

So does this look good? if a cerebral parasite counts as a fungal disease, then maybe we don’t even need to mention it by name?

Fungus (Ex): An ustilagor is covered with a symbiotic fungal growth that keeps the creature from drying out and masks its psionic aura from detection. This fungus makes an ustilagor immune to the debilitating effects of cerebral parasites, and to special attacks from fungus creatures, such as spore or seed-based attacks, poison, and disease.

And are these OK now?
Psi-Like Abilities: At will—aversion, detect psionics, empty mind (+3 on Will saves*), energy adaptation, id insinuation (DC 14), telempathic projection; 3/day—body adjustment. Manifester level 3rd.
The save DCs are Charisma-based.
*Includes augmentation for the ustilagor’s manifester level.

 

[Shade]

The kicker is, as written, if you take out the cerebral parasite bit, they won't actually be immune to cerebral parasites, because a cerebral parasite is not a "special attack from fungus creatures", right?

I can't believe the wee ustilagor has made it two pages, while the massive, truckload-full-of-abilities draknor was wrapped up in one. It just goes to show you...psionics complicates matters.

 

[BOZ]

don't forget that we discussed the majority of the draknor in a previous thread.

so are the above abilities ready to go?

 

[Shade]

I'll let our resident psionics expert decide. I've started reading the book to try to get up to speed, but it's taking awhile.

 

[BOZ]

Knight, see post 41.

 

[Knight Otu]

I'll let our resident psionics expert decide.

And who is that?







Oh, you mean me? OK.
Will saves that are not tied to mind-affecting abilities are quite rare, maybe rare enough to drop empty mind. Otherwise, it looks good.

 

[BOZ]

Fungus (Ex): An ustilagor is covered with a symbiotic fungal growth that keeps the creature from drying out and masks its psionic aura from detection. This fungus makes an ustilagor immune to the debilitating effects of cerebral parasites, and to special attacks from fungus creatures, such as spore or seed-based attacks, poison, and disease.

Psi-Like Abilities: At will—aversion, detect psionics, empty mind (+3 on Will saves*), energy adaptation, id insinuation (DC 14), telempathic projection; 3/day—body adjustment. Manifester level 3rd.
The save DCs are Charisma-based.
*Includes augmentation for the ustilagor’s manifester level.

i guess we can drop empty mind - it doesn't really matter i suppose. are we missing any saves?

and does the "masks its psionic aura" part speak for itself, or do we need to explain that any better (or remove it if that would be too much)? like for example, i imagine that would keep other psions from using detect psionics on it.

 

[Knight Otu]

aversion (DC 14)

telempathic projection (DC 13)

and does the "masks its psionic aura" part speak for itself, or do we need to explain that any better (or remove it if that would be too much)?

In what context/ability? Technically, it would keep it from being detected via detect psionics, though I'm not fully sure if that power detects creatures - it is implied, but the table does not quite support it.

 

[BOZ]

OK, I’m going to drop the whole “aura” thing – I’m sure there’s a simple answer, but none of us seems to know it. there are bigger and better things to get on to anyway…

As with the mind worm and brainstealer dragon, we need a MM psionics version of its psi-like abilities. If some of the key ones (aversion and telempathic projection, I’d say) don’t have any corollaries, then I’d say we write them up from scratch. Ideas?

Psi-Like Abilities: At will—aversion (DC 14), detect psionics, energy adaptation, id insinuation (DC 14), telempathic projection (DC 13); 3/day—body adjustment. Manifester level 3rd. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

 

[Shade]

The yuan-ti have got us covered on aversion:

Aversion (Sp): A yuan-ti abomination can psionically create a compulsion effect targeting one creature within 30 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 22 Will save or gain an aversion to snakes for 10 minutes. Affected creatures must stay at least 20 feet from any snake or yuan-ti, alive or dead; if already within 20 feet, they move away. A subject unable to move away, or one attacked by snakes or yuan-ti, is overcome with revulsion. This revulsion reduces the creature's Dexterity score by 4 points until the effect wears off or the subject is no longer within 20 feet of a snake or yuan-ti. This ability is otherwise similar to antipathy as the spell (caster level 16th). The save DC is Charisma-based.