Psion said:
Then why did you say "You wrote the nonsense about the axe vs. sword being like wizard vs. psionics right?"
Do you not understand why that statement shows you do not understand the point? If you don't, then no, you don't understand. You attributed an assertion to me that I never made and instead of showing that you misunderstood the context, you continued to go on like a broken record about your peception of psionics vs. magic.
Once again, I never said that there weren't sensible differences between the two. And after the third or fourth time, it's apparent to me that you feel the differences are pretty stark. Your perspective, but a subjective one, I assure you. But that's irrelevant to what I was speaking too, i.e., Nelsir, whose stance is that they AREN'T all that different. Your intejection, while a great opportunity for you to extoll your stance, is a total sidetrack.
As for appropriateness in the game, that is one we are just going to have to disagree on, because there is no objective answer, and your rifle example, while it serves for you, does not AT ALL match my perception nor does it serve as a fair demonstration of any objective principle on the matter.
You know, you really ought to learn to read what the person you are arguing with is saying. You have not showed a whit of perception as to what either I or Nelsir has said.
When I look back at your context argument I rather feel like a pot and kettle are involved.
Let me quote him:
"See, that's exactly why I don't allow psionics. A sorcerer is a spontaneously casting wizard. Psionics is another means of achieving the same end. You end up with "divine" magic, "arcane" magic, and "psionic" magic, and the differences between "psionic" and "arcane" effects are pretty slim."
He never said that magic and psionics are very simmilar, he said their effects are quite simmilar. That's the important point which I have made, and you have dilligently been avoiding.
The bow and the rifle are very simmilar in effect. Rather like psionics and magic. You somehow feel that swords and axes, weapons of the same period and milieu are dissimilar enough to justify a like description. They most certainly are not. Find me a fantasy world which treats axes and swords as exclusive of each other and you'd at least have a stump of a leg to stand on. You have no such thing.
I can name a host of fantasy worlds which don't feature psionics (in literature or whatnot) and do magic. That's the relevant issue. That's the beef of the DM and the other players. The addition of psionics breaks the fantasy 'feel' for them as would adding my rifle. That also tends to be reasonably objective.
Now I suppose you could merely have the player use the rules for psions as a form of point based magic and drop all the ectoplasm and crystal stuff, in which case you could likely mollify the other people in the game. However at that stuff is fairly central to the psion, and would take some work.
The whole point of this discussion was how to convince the guy to let him play the psion. I advocated what I consider the only fair course- bribery. If you are going to force an out of place thing into people's game, you better pay them for it.
You might be interested to read what the DM has to say. He's picked up my rifle example. Go figure. It must have been really irrelevant, unlike that appropriate axe and sword comment.
But then having a tag of 'Psion' I suspect you are perfectly objective on this issue
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buzzard
