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Mike Mearls on D&D Psionics: Should Psionic Flavor Be Altered?
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<blockquote data-quote="lkj" data-source="post: 7700860" data-attributes="member: 18646"><p>Probably worth putting up the text from the last playtest (I assume this is cool since it's only a small part of freely available playtest material but someone can let me know if not):</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Not every D&D world features psionic power to the same extent. Psionics indirectly originates from the Far Realm, a dimension outside the bounds of the known multiverse. The Far Realm has its own alien laws of physics and magic. When its influence extends to a world, the Far Realm invariably spawns horrific monsters and madness as it bends reality to its own rules. As the laws of reality twist and turn, individual minds can be awakened to the cosmic underpinnings that dictate the form and nature of reality. The tumult caused by the Far Realm creates echoes that can disturb and awaken minds that would otherwise slumber. Such awakened creatures look on the world in the same way that</em></p><p><em>creatures existing in three dimensions might look on a two-dimensional realm. They see possibilities, options, and connections that are unfathomable to those with a more limited view of reality. In worlds that are relatively stable and hew close to the archetypal D&D setting presented in the core rulebooks, psionics is rare—or might not exist at all. The cosmic bindings that define the multiverse are strong in such places, making it unlikely that an individual mind can perceive the possibilities offered by psionics. Mystics in such worlds might be so scarce that a mystic never meets another practitioner of the psionic arts. Characters might unlock their psionic potential by random chance, and ancient tomes, journals, and other accounts of mystics might serve as the only guide to mastering this form of power. Psionics is more common in worlds where the bounds of reality have been twisted and warped. The realm of Athas in the Dark Sun campaign setting is the prime example of a world where psionics is common. The gods are absent, magic has been twisted into an ecological scourge, and the common threads that bind many worlds of D&D have been sundered. By contrast, the world of Eberron is a setting where the bounds of reality have been tested but not fully broken. Psionics is not as pervasive in Eberron as in Athas, but the influence of the otherworldly realm of Xoriat makes it a known and studied art.</em></p><p></p><p>They definitely lead with a connection to the Far Realm. And I'd prefer they didn't do that. But even there they use the word 'indirect'. On top of that later paragraphs definitely suggest that the Far Realm connection is incidental and that psionic origins would likely vary by world. I don't see a Far REalm connection in any of those other examples.</p><p></p><p>In other words, I think all the elements are there for fluff that most people can be happy with. In fact, if they just took the Far Realm stuff and just inserted it into the later paragraph as another example of how psionics occurs, I'd be perfectly happy with it. </p><p></p><p>I understand what you say about bits of lore getting carried forward. Presumably, if the main fluff keeps it open then future iterations might hit up the Far REalm-- psionic connection. But probably not in a restrictive way. Anyway, a bit of psionics lore makes the Far Realms more interesting to me.</p><p></p><p>Cheers,</p><p></p><p>AD</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="lkj, post: 7700860, member: 18646"] Probably worth putting up the text from the last playtest (I assume this is cool since it's only a small part of freely available playtest material but someone can let me know if not): [I]Not every D&D world features psionic power to the same extent. Psionics indirectly originates from the Far Realm, a dimension outside the bounds of the known multiverse. The Far Realm has its own alien laws of physics and magic. When its influence extends to a world, the Far Realm invariably spawns horrific monsters and madness as it bends reality to its own rules. As the laws of reality twist and turn, individual minds can be awakened to the cosmic underpinnings that dictate the form and nature of reality. The tumult caused by the Far Realm creates echoes that can disturb and awaken minds that would otherwise slumber. Such awakened creatures look on the world in the same way that creatures existing in three dimensions might look on a two-dimensional realm. They see possibilities, options, and connections that are unfathomable to those with a more limited view of reality. In worlds that are relatively stable and hew close to the archetypal D&D setting presented in the core rulebooks, psionics is rare—or might not exist at all. The cosmic bindings that define the multiverse are strong in such places, making it unlikely that an individual mind can perceive the possibilities offered by psionics. Mystics in such worlds might be so scarce that a mystic never meets another practitioner of the psionic arts. Characters might unlock their psionic potential by random chance, and ancient tomes, journals, and other accounts of mystics might serve as the only guide to mastering this form of power. Psionics is more common in worlds where the bounds of reality have been twisted and warped. The realm of Athas in the Dark Sun campaign setting is the prime example of a world where psionics is common. The gods are absent, magic has been twisted into an ecological scourge, and the common threads that bind many worlds of D&D have been sundered. By contrast, the world of Eberron is a setting where the bounds of reality have been tested but not fully broken. Psionics is not as pervasive in Eberron as in Athas, but the influence of the otherworldly realm of Xoriat makes it a known and studied art.[/I] They definitely lead with a connection to the Far Realm. And I'd prefer they didn't do that. But even there they use the word 'indirect'. On top of that later paragraphs definitely suggest that the Far Realm connection is incidental and that psionic origins would likely vary by world. I don't see a Far REalm connection in any of those other examples. In other words, I think all the elements are there for fluff that most people can be happy with. In fact, if they just took the Far Realm stuff and just inserted it into the later paragraph as another example of how psionics occurs, I'd be perfectly happy with it. I understand what you say about bits of lore getting carried forward. Presumably, if the main fluff keeps it open then future iterations might hit up the Far REalm-- psionic connection. But probably not in a restrictive way. Anyway, a bit of psionics lore makes the Far Realms more interesting to me. Cheers, AD [/QUOTE]
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Mike Mearls on D&D Psionics: Should Psionic Flavor Be Altered?
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