Re: list of short questions

I'm going to answer these questions from my own perspective which is based
on the fact that Crystal Shells never seemed 100% "material" to me.

> What happens when a sphere of annihilation runs up against a crystal
sphere?  (i.e. something that destroys anything is brought to use against
the indestructable)
The crystal sphere opens up and the sphere drifts out into the Phlogiston.

> Glue probably can't  to a crystal sphere, right?  A suction cup would I'm
guessing and so would sovereign glue I would think but what are other
peoples thoughts on that?
Glue sticks to a crystal sphere.. so does a suction cup (as long as its
within an air bubble)... but nothing really "lasts" stuck.. so anything
sticking to it will probably have fallen off the next day.. and more than
likely dissapeared into the phlogiston.

> What happens if you stretch a portable hole across a portal to the
phlogiston?  (i.e half is in the flow and half isn't.  Can you only access
half the extradimensional space?
The seperation isn't as exact as that. Dimensional magic 'starts to fail' a
little ways out.. imagine the universe being a pond. The other planes are
the water and the phlogiston is the shore. The closer you get the more
shallow the water gets. By the time you're sticking a portable hole through
the portal its like splashing it a little with water.

> How thick is a crystal sphere anyways?  Does it vary from sphere to
sphere?
A molecule thick.. paper thin?It gets thicker depending on any structures
along the inner wall.. I always liked those star-torch carrying statues.

> When a portal through a crystal sphere closes does it cut through things
or does it just expel the matter to one side?  What would happen if you
tried to hold open a portal with a wall of force?
It doesn't close when something is in the middle of it.

> Can someone with the Use Magic Device skill from 3rd edition emulate a
Thri Kreen and use a crystal throne?  I'd say yes, but it seems a might too
good.
Yes. There are lots of uses of Use Magic Device that could be considered
"too good".. it is sort of the point of the skill. If that's a problem for
you, trap some of them out. Give it some powers that would be innocuous for
a normal user but would stand out for someone else. In the 3.0 book Song &
Silence there is a PrC that comes from a messed up UMD combination. It is
just a broach that gives a spider mount a +1 bonus to AC.. but because of
the way it works it seals itself to the users neck and enhances their
spider-like qualities. Something that enhances the character's Thri-Kreen
qualities. *grin* The character now counts as a Psionic individual. Not
attack or defense modes or anything like that.. but psionic attacks do
ability damage now rather than stun damage.