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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 8286642" data-attributes="member: 58197">That's not what a theme is. Psionics is not a theme (much less the theme--seriously?!?), defiling magic is not a theme, sorcerer-kings and lack of metal and desert wastes are not themes. They are setting elements, which support the theme in various ways.The theme of Dark Sun is a ravaged world sucked dry by the wanton abuse of its environment. Psionics elaborates on that; it shows how the inhabitants of Athas have adapted to scarcity and hardship. Deprived of all but the most primitive tools and weapons, they have found ways to use their own minds to compensate.But nothing in that requires professional psions. Rather the opposite, in fact: The salient feature of psionics on Athas is its widespread amateur use. It's the "everyman" power, the answer of the masses to the elite wielders of magic. The typical Athasian psion is not a wise ancient master but a street urchin who can pick pockets from thirty feet away, or a farmer who can sense water deep below the desert surface. You can have the professionals if you want, but the wild talents are far more important.</blockquote>