NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="briggart" data-source="post: 8094745" data-attributes="member: 6805135">DS main theme to me has always been survival in a hostile environment and the moral compromises that requires. The fact that the harsh environment comes partially from magic use is largely irrelevant. After all, the first environmental catastrophe on Athas was caused by life-shaping well before magic was invented, and fixing this significantly altered the world. Having defiling magic in is interesting because it offers some interesting moral dilemmas: I have this useful tool, but it comes with a long term cost, not necessarily to myself. But the key question "my survival vs others wellbeing" is not dependent on this.Likewise, psionics doesn't change the central theme of DS, but shifts the ways in which you can explore it. Psionics is the "natural" supernatural option. After the rebirth, some races started manifesting psionics ability. Arcane magic instead was invented. If you assume that preservers are always in danger to be defilers (I think this was introduced in the novel, not in the 2e RPG), having psionics in the campaign makes defiling more evil, and preserving at the very least irresponsible. There is a safe alternative to most of what magic can do. Without psionics, there is no such option, and this changes the risk-vs-benefit balance of magic use. IMO this gives a subtle, but noticeable tonal shift to the setting. The general populace would be more willing to allow preserving without psionics, because some things simply will not be possible without magic.</blockquote>

Verification