Editing Paragon Path (section)

==Shardmind==
===Crystalmind===
Restricted to [[shardmind]]s with the Shard Swarm racial (meaning any of them), this path brings about a special sort of unity formed by assembling thousands of splinters of willpower into a grander being. The most blatant of these is ''Psychic Network'', granting two new skill proficiencies, while ''Shard Swarm Reflex'' grants a free use of the 
racial power whenever an AP is spent on another action. ''Psychic Channel'' is a rather less-than-interesting feature, turning any at-will power that is used unaugmented into psychic damage. Saw it Coming serves as a neat retribution power, foiling an attempted flank and making a basic attack on the enemy with some extra punishment. Crystal Duplicate forms, well, a duplicate; it can walk around and interact, but it's only good for one hit before falling apart while granting the original a round of invisibility. Perfect Knowledge acts as a setup by granting an enemy Vulnerable 10 all for a turn.

When looking between this and Gatekeeper, it's easy to see this as less useful from a purely combative standpoint. A lot of the parts here require setup to work properly and there's a less clear focus on what the goal is. Ultimately, this path is probably only served for people who like the idea of more skills or the tricks it offers.

===Gatekeeper===
Restricted to [[shardmind]]s who have pieces of the Living Gate inside them. This path is very defender-themed, as it does everything it can to make being nearby the Living Gate irritating. ''Dangerous Threshold'' inflicts Combat Advantage vs anyone who enters or exits the gate's reach, while ''Gatekeeper's Action'' uses an AP spent on an Action to turn all adjacent squares into difficult terrain. ''Gate Ward'' then ties into the Chosen Threshold power, granting a free use when bloodied and also inflicting Combat Advantage vs anyone to those near the wall. You Shall Not Pass, rather than [[Lord of the Rings|collapsing bridges to stop fire monsters]], immobilizes an enemy who dares escape the party. Chosen Threshold erects a big wall to use as a doorway, granting plenty of mobility options. Gate to Nowhere is a good way to remove a nuisance, making an attempt to flee the party into instant imprisonment in some pocket dimension until the save ends it, plopping it back somewhere else.

Unlike Shard Disciple, this path is more open to a variety of classes by having the powers key off of any mental stat. Defenders and Controllers in particular can have fun with additional ways of locking people down from escaping less than ideal situations.

===Shard Disciple===
Restricted to [[shardmind]]s who want to be more like a swarm of crystals. ''Paragon Power Points'' and ''Perfect Shard Swarm'' start this off with 2 free PP and a boost in range and speed for the Shard Swarm racial power. ''Shard Swarm'' also halves any damage taken from direct attacks when the shard spends an AP on a new action. ''Constant Swarm'', meanwhile, is a typical twice/day racial feature. Irruption of the Living Gate is a basic blast that has the site where it hit turn into difficult terrain, though using those two PP to not only boost the blast radius but also teleport to wherever that may be. ''Recrystallize'' is a surprising cheat-death ability, spending a surge and a teleporting, a feature most Epic Destinies would envy. Shard Storm is then left to be Racial +1, not only being a burst, but also a sustained ability that is difficult terrain to any that step within and constant damage to those who dare stay and granting the owner several perks.

Since this power depends on Int for its powers, a Wizard or Psion are the first choices to come into mind. While the Psion sounds obvious with the PP, the one power that has an Augment is already given PP by entering this path. A Swordmage, for example, might find interest in having ways to deny an enemy with all the difficult terrain.