First: Who is "Karak"?
Second, with Karak's Bite of the Wolf how much damage is added by a non-medium creature add per augment level?
The power states that at a medium creature deals 1d8 base damage. Augmenting increases damage by +1d8 per increment of power points spent.
A large creature manifesting this power deals 2d6 base damage. That can be taken as each increment increases by another +2d6. This adds up quickly, especially when you factor in the expansion power (an 11th level, gargantuan psychic warrior would be dishing out 6d8 damage per bite), though at such a high level, it wouldn't matter as much.
The alternate is a large creature deal 2d6 bite damage, plus +1d8 per increment. Such an odd collection of dice offends my gaming OCD.
In the wording of Karak's Claws of the Beast (rather feral fella, this Karak), it is rather specific in that increases in size advances along a stated track. No such mention was made in Karak's Bite of the Wolf description.
Third, do creatures with the powerful build racial trait, and a natural weapon- such as the above talents pioneered by the infamous Karak- deal damage as a medium creature or a large one?
They can use weapons made by a creature one size larger than they are. This leads to the ability to use large sized gauntlets to punch people. This leads to their unarmed strikes dealing damage as large sized creatures. Which leads to natural weapons dealing the larger damage.
Than you to all who have advice, suggestions, and comments of any kind
Gauntlets, and by extension spiked gauntlets, are listed as simple weapons, deal increased damage from being larger than medium.
Remember that creatures with the powerful build trait are simply medium creatures with big hands; they are just below being large sized. All they really lack is the reach.
There ye be.Does the powerful build racial trait change the damage the character deals with unarmed strikes and natural weapons?
No. The powerful build racial trait allows the character to “use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty” but doesn't say anything about changing the damage dealt by his unarmed strikes or natural weapons.
Which would be great if I was using the Expanded Psionics Handbook by Wizards of the Coast.
In D&D 3.5, power attack was -1 BAB for +1 to damage (modified by light, one handed, and two handed use), Concentration was a skill, wizards had a d4 hit die, and you rolled to regain your psionic focus. Which worked just fine for D&D 3.5, but not Pathfinder.
Edit:
I do appreciate the input, and while 3.5 is a good resource to use as a fallback reference, I am hoping for a..."official" is the wrong word, because Pathfinder is heavily based off D&D, and the Dreamscarred Press is a (extremely well put together) "third party" product. Let's say I am hoping for an answer with a bit more backing it up that an outdated and abandoned product.
I did find this thread on the Dreamscarred Press site that indicates that unarmed strike damage isn't changed. I find this a bit wonky because of the gauntlets thing listed above. It also doesn't absolutely say that powerful build isn't intended to work on natural weapons, which is what I am hoping for.
For the record, I think powerful build should increase the die size of natural weapons, but I also recognize that just because I want it to, doesn't mean is so.
SINCE Powerful build doesn't have an 'official' (ie., Paizo) Pathfinder ruling, any and all 3.5 rulings to that effect take precedence.
What was taken and not taken from 3.5 was made by careful selection (or looks that way, from my untrained eye). It was never stated that any D&D FAQ was to be taken as applicable to Pathfinder. When a FAQ- or other clarification- is necessary, the Paizo folks handle it themselves, not "see this D&D FAQ".
Multiple times it has been stated that D&D material can be converted into Pathfinder compatible material, taking "any and all" rulings as default, and "official" seems like a band-aide answer; "quick, say this to stall 'em until we figure out a real answer" sorta thing.
That being said...I do see your point. Going that to the original is an acceptable, when no better answer is available, despite how weak that feels to me (or the supporting logic in the other direction). It still feels like a weird, haphazard ruling, without considering the gauntlet comparison. At the very least, some one could has just said "this applies to gantlets and their spiked cousins as well", which would have ended that question right there.
Barring direct input from Dreamscarred Press folks, I am willing to agree that the 3.5 ruling is the closet thing we have to an "official" answer ("closest" does not mean "close").
So, what about Bite of the Wolf damage and the Karak questions?
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This is taken from Ultimate Psionics.
If you are not a Medium creature, your bite attack’s
base damage varies as follows: Fine 1d2, Diminutive 1d3,
Tiny 1d4, Small 1d6, Large 2d6, Huge 2d8, Gargantuan 4d6,
Colossal 6d6.
Augment: For every 5 additional power points you spend,
your bite attack deals an additional 1d8 points of damage.
The power doesn't say your augmented power damage dice increases or decreases with size. It is a fixed amount per the text.
The power used to be called just Bite of the Wolf until the Ultimate Psionics Kickstarter. If you chipped in at a certain level you got to name a power. I know this because I named Form of Doom for my someone in my gaming group.
This is taken from Ultimate Psionics.
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The power doesn't say your augmented power damage dice increases or decreases with size. It is a fixed amount per the text.
I thought is odd that the first die is adjusted for size, but not the rest of it, especially considering how expensive the power is. Compared to Claws of the Beast, its more than twice as expensive, takes longer to activate, is a single attack vs. a pair, and doesn't (smoothly) scale with size. In trade, you get slightly better base damage and you can use it with your hands full.
I do think its odd that the base power does a d8, and each increase is a d8. But only the 1st d8 us adjusted due to size.
But, I'm not disagreeing with what you said. The text is pretty clear. It just seemed really odd.
The power used to be called just Bite of the Wolf until the Ultimate Psionics Kickstarter. If you chipped in at a certain level you got to name a power. I know this because I named Form of Doom for my someone in my gaming group.
That is awesome. Both for the one who named Karak, and Form of Doom. I think its even more so that you named it for one of your players.