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

[Paul Farquhar]

Lord of the Rings had a much bigger impact on my gaming at that time. 3e had released. Then came Fellowship of the Ring. Then the GM's elves could walk on snow. Then came The Two Towers. Then the GM's wargs looked like giant hyenas too. I don't think that my high school GM could have been more transparent about his main sources of inspiration even if he had tried. (But the Dune movie was nevertheless often quoted at the table alongside the usual others: e.g., Star Wars, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, etc.)

Monty Python and The Holy Grail is pretty much the most referenced source, despite it having been made before most of my players where born!

The other problem with Dune is it's brand of space magic is closely tied to the setting and very distinctive. Same is true of Star Wars. That's great for world building, but for something like Level Up something more generic (e.g. Traveller) is called for. Generic is boring, but it has the best chance of appealing to the broadest target audience.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Monty Python and The Holy Grail is pretty much the most referenced source, despite it having been made before most of my players where born!

The other problem with Dune is it's brand of space magic is closely tied to the setting and very distinctive. Same is true of Star Wars. That's great for world building, but for something like Level Up something more generic (e.g. Traveller) is called for. Generic is boring, but it has the best chance of appealing to the broadest target audience.

I still say we should include video game psi power as an inspiration as they have much the same problem we do plus they are plenty modern.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I still say we should include video game psi power as an inspiration as they have much the same problem we do plus they are plenty modern.

Which video game?

The trouble with looking at video games is that computers are good at doing things that humans are not, like keeping track of power points.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Which video game?

The trouble with looking at video games is that computers are good at doing things that humans are not, like keeping track of power points.

any of the ones I have mentioned before are an option.

you are right about the latter point but are spell slots any better?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

you are right about the latter point but are spell slots any better?

I think the main thing is there are fewer of them than most video games and they don't recharge continuously.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I think the main thing is there are fewer of them than most video games and they don't recharge continuously.

people count arrows or at least some do.

 

[Shardstone]

I'm not in my 30s, but most of my players are.

Dune, published 1960. Nope. No one has seen the recent movie yet because of COVID, so cultural impact is minimal.

The X-Men haven't had a significantly culturally impactful movie for 19 years. These days Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff bestride the cultural landscape like colossi.

Not that that matters for Level Up. That isn't targeting the same mass market as WotC, and it's target audience skews significantly older. So a more retro feel would be appropriate.

This is not true. A lot of people have seen Dune, man. It has not had a "minimal" cultural impact.

X-Men hasn't had a huge impact in a while, but everyone still knows about it, and everyone loved Logan, which did really well.

And if a retro feel is better, aren't you basically arguing for me if these two concepts are so retro?

 

[Paul Farquhar]

And if a retro feel is better, aren't you basically arguing for me if these two concepts are so retro?

X-Men is retro. Dune is too setting-specific for anything but Dune.

 

[Shardstone]

X-Men is retro. Dune is too setting-specific for anything but Dune.

No offense, but you sound a little dated with this opinion. I don't mean to be mean or agist or anything, but this is not true of my cohort, nor is it true of the other gaming groups I am that are young-millennial dominated. Your perspective here is too disconnected from the reality we're living down here imo.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

people count arrows or at least some do.

And some count them wrong. It depends on how many points you have, you are probably okay up to 20, but not video game hundreds. But some kind of points based system is the only other real option to spell slots.