A Government By Psions?

[Piratecat]

However, pyschic ability is 100% equivalent to magic.

Well, no. Not in my campaign. We aren't talking about game mechanics here, we're talking about flavor text, and at least for me there's a vast gulf between the two. I'd be careful stating unilaterally that they're identical.

I keep a distinct and fundamental difference between magic, which typically requires spells to affect the magical weave, and psionics, where the magical weave is affected directly by someone's mind. There are societal, legal and superstition differences between the two.

Another vote for psiocracy, incidentally.

 

[Rechan]

Feminocracy.

Yes, that's a joke.

 

[On Puget Sound]

well it would be CALLED a democracy, or a republic, or whatever it was before the psions took it over. And most people would believe it was still what it is called.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

well it would be CALLED a democracy, or a republic, or whatever it was before the psions took it over. And most people would believe it was still what it is called.

Good point!

The mind wipes will continue until morale improves!

 

[Jack7]

I'm gonna go for an old variation on the Greek (Koine).

Psuche, or Psuchos (life, breath, mind). Meaning, like psyche, both soul, and butterfly, but also connotatively linked to the mind.

Using psuchos as the base, then the term would be Psucracy.

Since the p is silent, then the term would phonetically be su-cracy, which sounds a great deal like "Secrecy."

Which to me would be how I would picture a government run by psuchons (Psychic-Archons), as a secretive, sub-rosan affair.

So I'd call the form of government a Psucracy, the leaders Psuchons, and the method of "election to service," Psucratic.

 

[Rechan]

How about Neurocratic?

 

[Celebrim]

I keep a distinct and fundamental difference between magic, which typically requires spells to affect the magical weave, and psionics, where the magical weave is affected directly by someone's mind.

I don't really feel like getting into a detailed discussion of theories of magic, but I don't see your distinct and fundamental difference. In particular, 'spell' as you are using it in that context (ei, 'not a sacred prayer but a mental technology') is a concept owed to the same spiritualism movement that gives us the term 'psychic'. And you are describing fundmentally the same act - imposing your will on reality through some sort of actualized thought - using different words that contain the meaning of the other when you start digging.

In any event, I still stand by my claim that no special term needs to be invented. The provenance of the term 'psi' to describe 'extrasensory perception' (itself a term of recent provenance designed to give a veneer of scientific legitimacy to very old magical practices) is barely 50 years old, and the term psionics (from which we get 'psion') was coined by a sci-fi author. Just stop for a second and look where this goes. What do you call a government by warlocks? What do you call a government by binders? What do you call a government by wu-jen? What do you call a government by warmages? What do you call a government by witches? What do you call a government by Magewrights? What do you call a goverment by Beguilers? And so on.

D&D pretty much invented the term Magocracy to describe something that made perfect sense in game terms but which didn't exist in the real world. It's a prefectly good and servicable term, so you might as well use it whenever it applies. A psychecracy would in my opinion be the correct term if you really must not use magocracy. The 'psi' in 'psionic' is just a shortened form of 'psychic'. 'Psiocracy' is roughly equivalent to calling a government by mages a mocracy.

However, let me suggest going an entirely different way. Call the government a Cryptarchy - ruled by secrets.

 

[Starfox]

The way 4E uses the words, Magic is all power sources but martial. Thus, all origin-based hierarchies except one based on martial powers would be magocracies in the 4E terminology. On the other hand, this term is so void of meaning as to be pretty useless - imagine "powerocracy".

Psyocracy is what I'd use, because its actually possible to pronounce.

But all psyocracies are not equal. If power is based on an individual's psychic ability, with the strongest psychic as the king, it is a psychic meritocracy. If power is based on some kind of psychic voting system (imagine two stones, one for yes, one for no. The one levitated the highest wins) then its a psychic democracy with a graded voting scale. If all psychics are alike, and all non-psychics are peons, what would you call that? Psychic Sparta?

And so on.

 

[Sammael]

The term used for the ancient realm of Jhaamdath in Forgotten Relams was psiocracy.

 

[blargney the second]

A mentality!

Of course, the ruler would be the head of state. When the rulers of two mentalities got together, they'd naturally have a tête-a-tête.