POWER STONES

A power stone stores a power (or collection of powers). A stored power can be used only once, "flushing" the stone. Using a power stone is basically like manifesting a power.

Physical Description: A power stone is a thumb-sized chunk of crystal that possesses a barely detectable interior glow if it holds a low-level power. A stone imprinted with more than one power or a higher-level power glows more brightly, but never enough to provide illumination in its own right. A typical power stone has AC 7, 5 hit points, a hardness of 8, and a break DC of 20.

Activation: To activate a power stone, a manifester must mentally address it, as described below. Once the power is known, the power stone is treated as a power completion item, except as noted below.

Addressing the Stone: A power stone must be "addressed" before a character can use it or know exactly what power it contains. Doing this requires a successful Psicraft check (DC 15 + power level). Once a particular power stone has been addressed, it is not necessary to do so again. Addressing a power stone in advance lets a character proceed directly to the next step when the time comes to use it.

Using a stone's stored power after addressing the stone requires holding the stone and willing the power's manifestation, as if manifesting a power normally (a standard action). Activating a power stone is subject to disruption just as manifesting a power normally would be.

Additionally, the user must meet the following requirements.

• The user must have the power on his or her class list.

• The user must have the requisite key ability score.

If the user meets these requirements and has a manifester level at least equal to the power's manifester level, she can automatically manifest the stored power without a check. If she meets both requirements but her own level is lower than the power stone's manifester level, she has to make a manifester level check (1d20 + user's level), against a DC equal to the power stone's manifester level +1, to manifest the power successfully. On a failure, the user must succeed on a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid brainburn (see below). A natural roll of 1 on this check is always a failure.

Determine Effect: A power successfully manifested from a power stone works exactly as if manifested normally. Assume the power stone's manifester level is always the minimum level required to manifest the power for the character who imprinted the stone, unless the creator specifically desires otherwise.

A power stone's glow fades when its stored power is flushed.

Brainburn: When something goes awry, the user of a power stone improperly manifests the stored power. The resultant psionic surge persists for 1d4 rounds, unless the power stone is flung farther than 100 feet away or is destroyed. This surge deals 1d6 points of damage per power stored per round and arcs across multiple targets, similar to energy current, except the damage type isn't specified. The user is the primary target, and one nearby ally is the secondary target (chosen at random).

The manifester level for a standard power stone is the minimum manifester level needed to manifest the power (unless otherwise specified).