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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dire Bare" data-source="post: 7967699" data-attributes="member: 18182">Psions are definitely pulled from literary and historical sources. They are not as prevalent in the fantasy genre as wizards and warriors, but they weren't invented out of nowhere. The Deryni series by Katherine Kurtz is probably the most classic example of fantasy psionics. The above reference to McCaffery's Pern series is also a great sci-fantasy example. Our view of psionics is certainly flavored by sci-fi tropes . . . . but psionics is far from the only sci-fi trope that made its way into classic D&D. Psionics also has a pretty strong pseudoscience mystical theme pulling from western esotericism of the 19th century, which evolved into the New Age movement of the mid-20th century.Is psionics Tolkienesque? Despite several stretchy arguments above, no. So what? D&D's core is Tolkienesque epic fantasy, but it stretches past those genre boundaries in lots of ways. Classic D&D psionics isn't for everyone, but it has its place in the D&D canon and deserves its place in 5E just as does the illusionist (subclass), ranger, paladin, and cleric.</blockquote>