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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Its all crystal clear?

    I have only had a slight gimps at expanded psionics, and now im wondering, why the heck do they all use crystal weapons? Just wondering.
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    Caelestion's Avatar

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Crystals are psychic love!

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    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Were-Sandwich's Avatar

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Because crystals are associated with psionics.
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    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Because obsidian is sharper than surgical steel.

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    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    don't know and i hate it.
    just change it if you don't like it
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    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Darn new age hippie psions. I think it is a little weird also I can understand it for psicrystals and the psi wand things but I don't see a reason for the weapons. there are a couple of prestige classes devoted to those weapons though. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040827d
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    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Because, deep in thier heart of hearts, the people who designed the psionics system wanted it to be cooler than the magic system. Not to knock psionics, but I'd be willing to bet that they almost wet themselves with joy when they realized they could 1-up the wizard artwork. "Haha!" they said, "Let the wizards have their cheesy combos and smoldering staves, we have sparkly crystal swords! In fact, we have razor-sharp spiny crystal everything! Swords, wands, alternate personalities, mirrors, furniture, clothing, toilet paper..."
    Last edited by Jade_Tarem; 2007-02-08 at 04:28 PM.
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    Khantalas's Avatar

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Crystal toilet paper.

    Ouch.

    The official explanation is that crystals are naturally resonance points for psionic energy.

    The unofficial explanation is that we needed more puns.

    "Are we crystal clear on this, generic psychic warrior?"

    "No, generic mysterious figure, but my sword is!"

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jade_Tarem View Post
    Because, deep in thier heart of hearts, the people who designed the psionics system wanted it to be cooler than the magic system. Not to knock psionics, but I'd be willing to bet that they almost wet themselves with joy when they realized they could 1-up the wizard artwork. "Haha!" they said, "Let the wizards have their cheesy combos and smoldering staves, we have sparkly crystal swords! In fact, we have razor-sharp spiny crystal everything! Swords, wands, alternate personalities, mirrors, furniture, clothing, toilet paper..."
    Suddenly Ialdabode had an epiphany, "OH GODS WHY DIDN'T WE STOP WITH THE WEAPONS? CRYSTAL TOILET PAPER IS A HORRIBLE IDEA!"

    The fluff reason is that crystals are psionically resonant so they can channel stuff and act like batteries, etc. The real reason is because even the reality shattering powers of magic are worthless compared to Shiny Things.


    Edit: CURSE YOU KHANTALAS!!!
    Last edited by BCOVertigo; 2007-02-08 at 04:43 PM.

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    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Yea, I was aware of the horrible fluffiness, the only cool looking crystal swinger is the warforged on the intro page of sharn.
    But are there any powers that actually need a crystal weapons or object?
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    Khantalas's Avatar

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Quote Originally Posted by YPU View Post
    Yea, I was aware of the horrible fluffiness, the only cool looking crystal swinger is the warforged on the intro page of sharn.
    But are there any powers that need a crystal weapons or object?
    What? Powers don't have material components.

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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    RogueGuy

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Crystals give psionics some stylistic flair. Without them psionic characters are just normal people standing around that occasionally decide to blow things up, tear apart someone's mind, create new planes, etc. Which is kinda cool but crystals are pretty and shiny. Which makes them more cool I guess.

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    There's a prestige class that was on WotCs site that was pretty much a combined Kensai, Weapon Master, and still gave progression on psychic warrior and full BAB. It's pretty sick, but the requirements are steep and include having a crystal masterwork weapon to 'imbue'.

    http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20020927a
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    The profusion of typeless "crystal" (Or the more bad-aasimar version, "deep" crystal) is one of the things that annoys me about the various fluff decisions.

    As a general metaphysicist, I have minor cognitive dissonance with psionics in general, Incarnum's use of chakras, and a few other terms. Most of the time I don't let it interfere with my enjoyment of an interesting system, since they let you do cool things (Even if straight-from-the-box incarnum makes you look like you were dumpster diving at Goodwill), and it was either use something that vaguely corresponds or come up with a new term.

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    It's obviously a nod to various New Age beliefs about crystals having psychic resonance or power or something.

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Yeah, dude, it's 'cause the crystals, y'see, are all like... Yeah, so when you focus on your inner... y'know, well, and colors, so... yeah, dude.
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    That's like asking why wizards have beards.

    Or why I have a beard.

    Wait...why DO I have a beard?....

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    Ogre in the Playground
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Also consider, gems, most notably diamonds, are extreamly important to magic. Many powerful spells (especially those dealing with a soul) use gems as material components and most magic items incorporate a gem of some sort in their design, perhaps as a sort of magical battery.

    Psionics (using the standard magic transparency rules) or more or less just a different way of manipulating magical power. Stylisticly, or perhaps out of efficiency psionic crystals tend to be bigger and more "jagged" shapped then the clean cut smallish gems that mages use, perhaps to show how psionics rather then being a fairly exact and regimented system (like magic), is a little more feral and unpredicatable.

    Or perhaps someone just thought that psionic characters needed to look different then normal characters and crystals just look cool.

    EDIT: Wizards have beards because most wizards are old and long white beards are a sign of age and wisdom. Unless your a PC, who is always in the 16-20 range, most wizards who are any good have studied for decades and thus are old farts.
    Last edited by TheOOB; 2007-02-08 at 10:42 PM.
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Dave's not here, man.

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    DruidGuy

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    also if you have a 'deep' crystal weapon, you can spend power points to do more damage.

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Oh the Psychic Weapon Master is so good. Its Full BAB, 5/10, Full Kensai Weapon Upgrade, Adds +2 to a weapon threat range if you have improved crit (else you get improved crit), and you can increase the weapon multipler 5xs a day.

    How do you like my 17-20 x5 Crystal Scythe?
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    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ramza00 View Post
    Oh the Psychic Weapon Master is so good. Its Full BAB, 5/10, Full Kensai Weapon Upgrade, Adds +2 to a weapon threat range if you have improved crit (else you get improved crit), and you can increase the weapon multipler 5xs a day.

    How do you like my 17-20 x5 Crystal Scythe?
    Not as much as I like my 12-20/x7 3.0 weaponmaster Scythe.

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fax_Celestis View Post
    Not as much as I like my 12-20/x7 3.0 weaponmaster Scythe.
    That is 3.0, it is dead and gone The above combo is a 3.5 combo
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fax_Celestis View Post
    Not as much as I like my 12-20/x7 3.0 weaponmaster Scythe.
    Personally, I liked my 3.0 Disciple of Dispater/Weapons master wielding two 3-20/x2 Bladed Gauntlets with vorpal. But I'm thinking there are reasons why that kind if thing is not permitted any longer.
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    The crystals really kind of annoyed me at first, but there is an actual logical explanation for it. Crystals are already beiing used to store energy and memory in computers. Crystals, if aligned right and this and that done to them could possibly have an neural-like matrix. Crystals tend to follow a fractal pattern, and alot of information can be stored in this way. If tuned to certain frequencies or conditions they are also capable of realigning themselves, which in this case is merely thoughts waves.

    Thus one could almost say a psicrystal is a sort of no-tech computer accessible by the psion's mind. Main problem with this though is that it feeds into the whole 'Psionics is only for sci-fi! Waaaaaah!' mentality.

    I think of these crystals as more alike to be silicon-based creatures, which are just as likely to exist as carbon-based.
    Last edited by The Vorpal Tribble; 2007-02-10 at 11:55 AM.

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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Chenjesu much?
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    What about Crystal Pepsi?
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Frankly, I can't remember the last time I saw psionics in a sci-fi story.

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    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Quote Originally Posted by Khantalas View Post
    Frankly, I can't remember the last time I saw psionics in a sci-fi story.
    Fantastic four? That’s not real sci-fi. Ice planet has some suggestions to a psionic order.
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    Default Re: Its all crystal clear?

    Quote Originally Posted by OzymandiasVolt View Post
    What about Crystal Pepsi?
    Suppose a guy's coming at you with a knife, and you can't see him through your Pepsi...

    Quote Originally Posted by Khantalas View Post
    Frankly, I can't remember the last time I saw psionics in a sci-fi story.
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