<rant>Psionic Magic?! WTF?!

[Rechan]

What differences there are between divine magic, arcane magic and psionic magic? Is it more than the source?
Divine magic is the will of the gods, they will it and it happens;
Arcane magic comes from the study or manipulation of the aether (whatever) present everywhere;
Psionic magic comes from within the practitioner, his mind can twist and control the world around him.
And Primal magic comes from the communion with the nature spirits of the world.

And I anticipate "Shadow Magic" will be the keywords for the Shadow keyword.

It's just consistency.

 

[Mengu]

For the ignorant (like me), psionic magic seems fine. It sounds like magic you do with your mind, instead of arcane magic which sounds like magic you do with books and runes, or divine magic which sounds like magic you do through gods, or primal magic which sounds like magic you do through natural or inner forces.

And for the record, as far as I'm concerned, Martial power could very well be martial magic. Take a look at the Rogue's Cloud Jump. Call it ninja magic or whatever you want.

 

[Rechan]

Here's a general question that the notion of "mind magic" comes from.

How does the brain... do magic? Generally, with other kind of spellcasting, there's the notion you're doing something. Channeling or going through a sequence that summons it, or asking for the Gods/a spirit to fulfill your request.

With "Mind Magic" you're... Thinking a spell? "Magic... OF THE MIND" sounds more goofy than anything.

I typically buy into the "mastery over the body/mind of the self" - the Yogi/Kung Fu Master method. But "Mind magic" really doesn't capture that.

 

[Jack99]

For someone who's a self-professed author, you sure come across as lacking in the area of articulation. What particular reference to "psionic magic" are you referring to? It's a power source, sure. But who's calling it magic?

The way I see it, if psionics isn't magical but rather some mutant brain genetically-derived superpower, then get it out of my fantasy game.

This is why I previously suggested that the power source be called "mystical". Same basic essence without the sci-fi connotation.

Self-professed is a bit uncalled for, no?

Either way, to answer your question:

Role: Defender. You are tough and fast, while your mastery of psionic magic allows you to outwit your foes.[snip]

 

[Piratecat]

For someone who's a self-professed author, you sure come across as lacking in the area of articulation.

What we have here is a post that would have been just fine without the insult.

Felon, this fails one of my general rules of forum decorum, the "do I sound like a dick?" test. When I reread what I write, I ask myself: will someone reading this think "wow, he sounds like a dick"? If so, I edit and remove insults. Please do the same. It does a great job of shaking off veiled insults that ride the line.

And yeah, I know I'm violating my own rule by not using a euphemism like "jerk." I want to make a point.

This caution brought to you by the Decorum Police and the letter "D."

 

[N0Man]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

I don't think there's much point in getting bent out of shape over the use magic. It's always been pretty liberally used. I personally wouldn't pick the word "magic" to describe Divine powers either, but it doesn't really bother me if the term is used.

Your average villager isn't going to really make the distinction whether something should be called magic depending on whether it is Arcane, Divine, Primal, or Psionic. He's just going to see crazy weird stuff going on and think, "magic!"

 

[Akaiku]

Sufficiently advanced technology is martial magic, by the way.

 

[SWAT]

It bothered me as well for a while until I sorted it out for myself as such: 'Magic' really only means 'special effect.' It's a result, not a source. And how can magic be done? Well, by a connection to primal spirits, or worshiping the divine, or a series of words and gestures of power, or with your incredibly powerful mind...

 

[Tale]

Felon, this fails one of my general rules of forum decorum, the "do I sound like a dick?" test. When I reread what I write, I ask myself: will someone reading this think "wow, he sounds like a dick"? If so, I edit and remove insults.

Fascinating. Because I do the opposite. If I don't sound like a dick, I toss in a couple of insults.

My favorite people to insult are Halflings. Stupid useless Halflings.

 

[the-golem]

Meh. It's arguing over semantics. If your setting is sci-fi, then its "psionics." If it's high fantasy, then its "magic". The overall effect is the same. Now, if this were another setting, where it distinguished a difference between body and mind, then I could see raising a huff. Psionics, in my eye, generally cover things like telepathy, telekinetics, etc, and are generally mind attacks. Regular old magic is a physical attack.

Example, the wizard casts a fireball, incinerating you. It hurts, you die.
The psion bores into your brain, making you think you're on fire. It also hurts, you also die. Whether you were REALLY on fire, or if you only THOUGHT you were on fire is beside the point -- you're dead.