Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Willie the Duck" data-source="post: 9282249" data-attributes="member: 6799660">They were first included in oD&amp;D supplement III: Eldrtich Wizardry, so they definitely predate Gamma World. I have also heard the notion that they were included as a bone thrown to the people wanting a non-Vancian system, although I'm unsure of my source on the matter. Certainly we've heard plenty of material (both hearsay and documentary) about Gary locking horns with the desire to have non-Vancian casting. I think this was also (much like the ranger and monk) just stuff that people knew from their pulp/fantasy/sci fi fiction that they might want in their games, so why no please them and throw it in. What I note about oD&amp;D/AD&amp;D psionics is how a very awkward and poorly integrated ruleset version of this very broad concept was implemented very early in the game, and how it stuck through all the way through late 2e*. Sure Dark Sun and Player's Option powers got some tweaks, and the effect of psychic combat kept evolving, but that there was psychic combat (and the Rochambeau attack vs. defense matrix) at all was constant. Same with Wild talents, most of the specific powers, and so on. For instance, merging your weapon with your arm, while not exactly out of bounds for the supporting fiction, certainly isn't the first thing most people would have thought of as a psychic power. *certainly not unique, but a notable example. </blockquote>

[QUOTE="Willie the Duck, post: 9282249, member: 6799660"] They were first included in oD&D supplement III: Eldrtich Wizardry, so they definitely predate Gamma World. I have also heard the notion that they were included as a bone thrown to the people wanting a non-Vancian system, although I'm unsure of my source on the matter. Certainly we've heard plenty of material (both hearsay and documentary) about Gary locking horns with the desire to have non-Vancian casting. I think this was also (much like the ranger and monk) just stuff that people knew from their pulp/fantasy/sci fi fiction that they might want in their games, so why no please them and throw it in. What I note about oD&D/AD&D psionics is how a very awkward and poorly integrated ruleset version of this very broad concept was implemented very early in the game, and how it stuck through all the way through late 2e*. Sure [I]Dark Sun[/I] and [I]Player's Option[/I] powers got some tweaks, and the effect of psychic combat kept evolving, but that there was psychic combat (and the Rochambeau attack vs. defense matrix) at all was constant. Same with Wild talents, most of the specific powers, and so on. For instance, merging your weapon with your arm, while not exactly out of bounds for the supporting fiction, certainly isn't the first thing most people would have thought of as a psychic power. [I]*certainly not unique, but a notable example. [/I] [/QUOTE]

Verification