D&D 5E Psionics in a sci-fi D&D

[Cadence]

In that setting those abilities are based on biology and physics as they work in that setting. Just like magic in a setting where magic actually works!

Bringing back a previous post, warp drive, transporters, replicators, and phasers are all also things that are based in physics in that setting and actually work. Are they just like magic?

When did flying cars go from magic (Apollo's chariot) to science (the Arrowbile in 1937).

I'm obviously flailing with this.

Are "magics" and "psionics" just things like physics and biology? Is "supernatural" in any story, just the things the people in that story haven't studied enough, or a trick of the author to break the story-world rules? (a la Clarke).

 

[DEFCON 1]

Warp drive is Misty Step in a spaceship.

Pretty crap space ship... warping forward just 30' at a time...

 

[Micah Sweet]

Pretty crap space ship... warping forward just 30' at a time...

Yeah, lots of issues with that analogy.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Bringing back a previous post, warp drive, transporters, replicators, and phasers are all also things that are based in physics in that setting and actually work. Are they just like magic?

When did flying cars go from magic (Apollo's chariot) to science (the Arrowbile in 1937).

I don’t think ‘magic’ is particularly coherent category. Either the physics of the setting lets you do the thing or they don’t. People in the setting may or may not understand the underlying mechanism.

I'm obviously flailing with this.

Are "magics" and "psionics" just things like physics and biology? Is "supernatural" in any story, just the things the people in that story haven't studied enough, or a trick of the author to break the story-world rules? (a la Clarke).

Yes.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

(Not interested in “D&D doesn’t fit sci-fi” responses)

Assuming you accept the premise, would you prefer psionics to be magic reskinned or a totally new system?

I'm not sure I actually answered this properly. In between (a classic compromise), butt closer to magic reskinned. I don't know if a totally new system could be balanced; I'm looking at a new class like the 3.5 warlock or Magic of Incarnum (which still used sensible save DCs, "caster" levels, and so forth).

 

[Mind of tempest]

okay, so what is it about the psion that we want exactly as that will be most enlightening?

 

[Cadence]

In the big testing field, the mage puts up an Anti-Magic Shell, the psychic calls up Tower of Iron Will, the priest invokes Holy Aura, and the fighter and thief hit #5 on their cube of Force. And then the sages running the thing start going through the arcane, psionic, divine, and physical attacks to see what does what.

 

[Yaarel]

I don't see psions as inspiring, highly skillful, or performance-based. I think they really need their own class.

I agree the Psion deserves a separate class.

The Psion narrative is distinct, and what it can do is complex: telepathy, precognition, psychoportation, psychometabolism, telekinesis, and metacreativity. There are different kinds of Psion archetypes. Normally this means a separate class with several subclasses.

I see the Psion as having at least four subclasses:

• Telepathy (enchantment and illusion)
• Psychometabolism (shapeshifting and healing)
• Telekinesis (fly, force, and force construct metacreativity)
• Precognition (divination, luck, and spacetime teleportation)

Regarding the flavor of precognition, the Psion can send ones mind outofbody to anywhere in spacetime (like clairvoyance thus able to see elsewhere, witness the past, and foresee), the teleportation and temporal distortions come with pulling the body to the new location in spacetime.

Re Telekinesis, force constructs like Unseen Servant, Tiny Hut, Wall of Force, etcetera, also extend to force constructs like Spiritual Weapon and other objects made out of force.



I see the Psion as highly skillful, perhaps similar to the way a Buddhist monk might excel at being able to focus ones thoughts.

 

[Scars Unseen]

So I've seen some people divide their opinion into two stances. Basically if no magic: reskin / if also magic: new. I think I kind of feel the opposite of that. If magic exists in the proposed sci-fi... setting? game? then psionics has to compete with that. If magic isn't a consideration, then you only have to make a new class work alongside martial classes (whether they be the classic D&D classes or new classes e.g. d20 Modern), and that frees you up to be a bit more creative without the baggage of D&D's magic(especially wizard) assumptions. Play a bit closer to fictional tropes like drawbacks, risk and stress. As long as you can make it fun and balance out against a dude in armor shooting a blaster or what have you, the concept is wide open. If they have to exist alongside mister "I do everything anyone else can do because my designers are too creatively bankrupt to conceive of a model of magic that actually has limitations," then it's much harder to make a limited psionics model without it feeling inferior to magic.

Of course, you could limit magic and psionics if you're making a 5E based game instead of just doing a Dragonstar and working under the assumption that sci-fi D&D is just D&D in spaaaaaace.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

In the big testing field, the mage puts up an Anti-Magic Shell

And the psychic walks right through and mind blasts the wizard because psionics is not magic. No matter what chassis is used the build the psychic class, this is what many consider fundamental. Anti-magic stuff does not stop psychic powers.