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Mike Mearls on D&D Psionics: Should Psionic Flavor Be Altered?
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<blockquote data-quote="arjomanes" data-source="post: 7672287" data-attributes="member: 94951"><p>I REALLY like this line of thought. </p><p></p><p>Psionics should alter the setting as much as the other power sources do. </p><p></p><p>A setting that has divine powers has deities, gods, saints, miracles, clerics, paladins, temples, churches, inquisitions, crusades, and relics. There is a lot that ties this power to the setting. </p><p></p><p>A setting that has arcane powers has wizards and sorcerers, witches, necromancy, enchantment, charms, spells, familiars, summoning, orbs and staves. Magic has a definite place in the setting as well. </p><p></p><p>I also think the notion of "primal" powers is a solid concept, with druids, shamans, barbarians, animists, totems, trophies, weather and nature magic, spirits and primordial forces.</p><p></p><p>So what makes psionics different, and how can its presence or absence affect the setting? I personally think it can work well with the idea of cosmic horror and mind-melting terror that the Far Realm invokes. If you look at the traditionally psionic monsters, they are alien things. I also like the idea of giving the powers common names, rather than the scientific descriptors they have always had. </p><p></p><p>Personally if I were to add psionics to my game, it would come with aberrations as a key element of the setting. I would include Lovecraftian great old ones, creatures like mindflayers and beholders, and make psionics powered by the presence of these creatures and how they warp reality. Or it would be a very wuxia-influenced game that used both psionics and ki side-by-side. As mentioned by Mike Mearls, Dark Sun also has a different spin on psionics, but no less world-altering. </p><p></p><p>I'd have a hard time just dropping psionics into a standard high-fantasy medieval European world without it being a world-altering event (even if it's slow and insidious at first). I think Eberron is an example of how psionics exists side-by-side with traditional fantasy. Sarlona is a very different place than Korvaire, and the psionics are a result of outside influence. From time to time psionics can bleed into the rest of Eberron, but it is a unique power that has huge implications for the setting.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="arjomanes, post: 7672287, member: 94951"] I REALLY like this line of thought. Psionics should alter the setting as much as the other power sources do. A setting that has divine powers has deities, gods, saints, miracles, clerics, paladins, temples, churches, inquisitions, crusades, and relics. There is a lot that ties this power to the setting. A setting that has arcane powers has wizards and sorcerers, witches, necromancy, enchantment, charms, spells, familiars, summoning, orbs and staves. Magic has a definite place in the setting as well. I also think the notion of "primal" powers is a solid concept, with druids, shamans, barbarians, animists, totems, trophies, weather and nature magic, spirits and primordial forces. So what makes psionics different, and how can its presence or absence affect the setting? I personally think it can work well with the idea of cosmic horror and mind-melting terror that the Far Realm invokes. If you look at the traditionally psionic monsters, they are alien things. I also like the idea of giving the powers common names, rather than the scientific descriptors they have always had. Personally if I were to add psionics to my game, it would come with aberrations as a key element of the setting. I would include Lovecraftian great old ones, creatures like mindflayers and beholders, and make psionics powered by the presence of these creatures and how they warp reality. Or it would be a very wuxia-influenced game that used both psionics and ki side-by-side. As mentioned by Mike Mearls, Dark Sun also has a different spin on psionics, but no less world-altering. I'd have a hard time just dropping psionics into a standard high-fantasy medieval European world without it being a world-altering event (even if it's slow and insidious at first). I think Eberron is an example of how psionics exists side-by-side with traditional fantasy. Sarlona is a very different place than Korvaire, and the psionics are a result of outside influence. From time to time psionics can bleed into the rest of Eberron, but it is a unique power that has huge implications for the setting. [/QUOTE]
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