How do you like you psionic flavor?

[Nifft]

IMC, Psionics is currently "different", because it is not well understood.

When PCs (and magi from the Human area in general) get to be more familiar with it, it will become more and more "transparent".

Right now, it's:
- Alien
- Inborn
- Different
- Hard to Deal With

-- N

 

[Arc]

Most of the psionic characters I play are psionic warriors, so it's not so much "powers of the mind" as it is a wuxai inspired inner strength. Walking on walls, moving faster than humanely possible, strengthening ones body, etc. It works pretty well, and is probably the easiest sort of mechanic to reflavor based on character concept.

 

[Psion]

In my campaign, Psionics is used as an alternative to Arcane magic. Although, this takes place soley in the desert where the fall never took place, or at least to little extent. Divine magic is used in both areas. However, this is only the "home continent" Thýon. I'm yet to decide if other continents have all three or a mish mash like Thýon.

In my campaign setting Trinalia, I had a similar division. The major "evil empire" suffered a rebellion at the hands the leader of the order of mages and second in line to the throne. The order broke off and formed a magocracy. The empire turned to psionics to perform most of the tactical function mages used to perform.

As a result, psionics sort of took a place as the "power of the evil empire". As most players weren't familiar with 3e psionics by the time we started into 3e gaming in the setting, it has a mysterious and menacing feel, furthered by the fact I played up its strengths.

 

[Warbringer]

In my own world the LG god died recently and fell to earth, shattering into a million pieces. The pieces, known as Sacramanent allow a character to awaken within themselves their own power, psionics.

The mataphor is simple arcane/divine come from with out (occidental); psi comes from with in (transcendental)

 

[Zhaleskra]

The "default" flavor for psionics seems have a crystal "new-age" feel to it. Hyperconscious and Eberron have both tied it to dreams. I've hear other people who treat it as "just another type of magic." What flavor do you like your psionics to have? And is that how you would like to see published material?

Skills & Feats is by far the best way I've seen it treated both in Star Wars d20 and Forbidden Kingdoms which added the idea of "Advanced" Skills. Otherwise, I feel psionics users are too much like "sorcerers who use points". That said, I really have nothing against "mana" or other power points.

 

[Aaron L]

I like the default flavor, with added overtones of Dragonball Z style ki blasting and Bene Gesserit body mastery.

Psionics is harnessing your internal energies and projecting them outwards to change the universe around you, as opposed to Arcana magic being a manipulation of outside universal laws to alter reality, and Divine magic calling on Outer Planar energies to effect change.

In my home setting psionics is as widespread as either form of magic, and was in fact dominant in the ancient Medaean Republic.

But I have an important rule: and effect is an effect. Magic/psionics transparency. Teleportation is travel through teh Astral Plane, wether its initiated through manifesting a Psionic power, or casting a spell. Its the same effect, and behaves the same way.

 

[Soel]

My preferential flavour is psionics as "new mental abilities". I like to approach it as an evolutionary feature and not a supernatural occurence. I prefer it to have a little bit of a "scientific" feel about it

Sums up my thoughts pretty good. Its has zero relation to magic.

I have always viewed those with psionic ability as living up to their true potential. The new age/quasi-Indian feel hangs high as well.

Bring on the crystals, chakras and primal scream exercises!

 

[Thurbane]

The "default" flavor for psionics seems have a crystal "new-age" feel to it. Hyperconscious and Eberron have both tied it to dreams. I've hear other people who treat it as "just another type of magic." What flavor do you like your psionics to have? And is that how you would like to see published material?

(Please do not reply, "I don't like psionics of any flavor." I already know it's not for everybody.)

Well, I don't use psionics in my games, but if I did, I'd run it one of two ways (maybe a mix of both):

1.) Pretty much like The Force from SW

2.) I'd have a culture clash between an expansionist empire where Psionics are used in place of magic, after which some inevitable "cultural contamination" would flow both ways...

 

[GuardianLurker]

Well, in my current "kitchen sink" campaign, psionics manipulates the universal energy, while divine and arcane manipulate the waste energy of superscience powerplant. Strangely enough, I like wizards and clerics.

In my new campaign, psionics is both elemental and natural; it's a lot like Kurtz's Deryni, or Kerr's Deverry (sp?) magic. Which means that it has a semi-new-age feel to it, but in large part that's because the New Age stuff co-opted earlier traditions.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I don't care for the dream-flavor psionics much. I do like mental/emotional prowess. In many cases, wilders and sorcerers in my world are a bit hard to distinguish on that account except for the fact that most wilders can manifest without sound/spell component equivalents (because of a concentraton check). Wizards and Psions are more easily distinguished becuase of the lack of spellbooks.