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Psion as Wizard archetype − Happy Fun Hour
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<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7411298" data-attributes="member: 996"><p>John W. Campbell, c1952. He proposed the term to mean something 'engineering applied to powers of the mind' (the 'enhancing psychic powers with electronics' definition is closer to psychotronics, but that gets really weird...). </p><p></p><p>And, yes, 'psionic' was coined by adding 'psi' + the '-onics' ending (lifted from electronics) that, in the 50s, had buzz comparable to '.com' in the 90s, having supplanted '-ola' as the ending you pasted on something to make it sound cool & modern (about the only examples that may ring a bell, today would be Motorola and granola). Psychic were coined (or rather adopted into English) in the later 19th century, with the rise in popularity of the mediums and Theosophy (actually, a lot of pop-culture, and thus D&D, ideas of the supernatural were influenced by Theosophy).</p><p></p><p>It's at least an older word. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>They Mystic's been on UA quite a while, I don't understand the point of a 'top gap' that's every bit as unofficial... ??</p><p></p><p>Warlock's mechanics are pretty decent - not as over the top complicated and counter-genre as most D&D spellcasting, not as sadly limited and counter-genre as non-casters. </p><p></p><p>(wow, that sounded harsher than intended, but I can't think how to get the idea across while sounding nice...)</p><p></p><p>It seems pretty common in fiction that a psychic with overt powers like TK or mind control, has to put forth intense effort or concentration and can wear themselves out or even injure themselves in the process.</p><p></p><p>Teleportation, Aportation, and Dematerialization were powers claimed by or attributed to mentalists - and the more mystic-spouting stage magicians, for that matter - again, back in the 19th century. All of them have been in D&D a long while, Teleportation, obviously, with a spell of that name, Aportation in Daern's Instant Summons and Leomund's Secret Chest among others, and Dematerialization in Passwall, (stretching the point a bit, Etherealness), and later qualities like insubstantial or phasing.</p><p></p><p>Google Sorcerer and, thanks to Sorcerer's Stone and some video games, you won't find any examples in the fist page. throw in 'superstition,' you might start finding some, they're often not from the most savory sources, either.</p><p></p><p></p><p> I think that's a fairly standard vision, yes. Though, it's worth noting that in prior eds, 'concentration' was required for spellcasting as well as components, while in 5e, only a sub-set of spells require concentration, and while all such limitations are toned down from the olden days, it's a more significant limitation than components, which are barely a meaningful limit at all anymore.</p><p></p><p>So a 5e Psion that had to Concentrate to use any of it's powers would be more limited than a 5e caster, not less.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 7411298, member: 996"] John W. Campbell, c1952. He proposed the term to mean something 'engineering applied to powers of the mind' (the 'enhancing psychic powers with electronics' definition is closer to psychotronics, but that gets really weird...). And, yes, 'psionic' was coined by adding 'psi' + the '-onics' ending (lifted from electronics) that, in the 50s, had buzz comparable to '.com' in the 90s, having supplanted '-ola' as the ending you pasted on something to make it sound cool & modern (about the only examples that may ring a bell, today would be Motorola and granola). Psychic were coined (or rather adopted into English) in the later 19th century, with the rise in popularity of the mediums and Theosophy (actually, a lot of pop-culture, and thus D&D, ideas of the supernatural were influenced by Theosophy). It's at least an older word. ;) They Mystic's been on UA quite a while, I don't understand the point of a 'top gap' that's every bit as unofficial... ?? Warlock's mechanics are pretty decent - not as over the top complicated and counter-genre as most D&D spellcasting, not as sadly limited and counter-genre as non-casters. (wow, that sounded harsher than intended, but I can't think how to get the idea across while sounding nice...) It seems pretty common in fiction that a psychic with overt powers like TK or mind control, has to put forth intense effort or concentration and can wear themselves out or even injure themselves in the process. Teleportation, Aportation, and Dematerialization were powers claimed by or attributed to mentalists - and the more mystic-spouting stage magicians, for that matter - again, back in the 19th century. All of them have been in D&D a long while, Teleportation, obviously, with a spell of that name, Aportation in Daern's Instant Summons and Leomund's Secret Chest among others, and Dematerialization in Passwall, (stretching the point a bit, Etherealness), and later qualities like insubstantial or phasing. Google Sorcerer and, thanks to Sorcerer's Stone and some video games, you won't find any examples in the fist page. throw in 'superstition,' you might start finding some, they're often not from the most savory sources, either. I think that's a fairly standard vision, yes. Though, it's worth noting that in prior eds, 'concentration' was required for spellcasting as well as components, while in 5e, only a sub-set of spells require concentration, and while all such limitations are toned down from the olden days, it's a more significant limitation than components, which are barely a meaningful limit at all anymore. So a 5e Psion that had to Concentrate to use any of it's powers would be more limited than a 5e caster, not less. [/QUOTE]
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