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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 5902313" data-attributes="member: 5435">I'll start the ball rolling.One of my favorite contemporary authors is Robin Hobb.  What do I do if I have a player who wants to play a magician who uses the Skill?This is a tough one because the magic gives a small set of skills with very broad applications.  I'd begin by looking at the powers in the psionics handbook. The major powers of the Skill are:Telepathy (e.g. the spells ESP, Sending, Nightmare)Clairsentience (usually from the POV of someone you contacted with telepathy)Mental IllusionsPsychic Vampirism (drain HP or PP from a willing donor or even an unwilling one, given long enough contact)I think what I would do for this player, new to D&D, is pre-select a list of powers from the psionics handbook in each of these domains, so that there were one or two powers per level of effect, much like a Cleric's domain. I would steal spells from the arcane magic list if necessary to get certain effects that the player wants. I would arrange the powers so that the total number known at a given level more or less followed the chart in the XPH.And when they get more used to the game, they could pick some of their own.Now, the Skill has some differences from Psionics:It is generally undetectable except to other Skill users, so I choose the "Psionics and Magic are independent" option. I also get rid of all manifestations. This is a minor advantage that could counter the disadvantage of a narrower power selection.The Skill is addictive and exhausting. Addiction is a major limitation that is better handled through role-playing. But I could introduce a rule that if you ever run out of power points on any given day, you become fatigued on the following day.There are other details to be arranged, but I think the technique of modeling a handful of core powers with broad applications by a small set of "domains"  is close enough to give the player a satisfying experience in D&D.</blockquote>

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