Power Sources

[The_Fan]

I may be a bit late on this one, but I noticed that the proposed cover for the PHB says "a guide to martial, arcane, and divine characters." That made me think that other power sources will be introduced later. The "three new power sources per cycle" thread got me thinking about what those power sources might be:

Psionics: Virtually guaranteed. Seriously, as much as the psi-haters may disagree, psionics are a part of D&D. They're like the sixth ranger of D&D in that they're (almost) always introduced later and aren't always a perfect fit, but they're a tradition.

Nature: This is a good possibility. The (presumed) exclusion of the Druid and Barbarian from the PHB I is a good sign of this. The only thing that doesn't make it a guarantee is the inclusion of the Ranger, which is about as Natural as you can get. Maybe the Ranger will be changed a bit, but I don't see how you can divorce it from its Nature roots.

Ki: The only hint this may happen is no monk in the PHB I. While certainly a possibility, it may be too similar to Martial. You'd have to do more to differentiate the two. Also, there's the problem of making it power source: ASIA. (celebrity jeopardy voice)

Incarnum: A real shot in the dark, that one. Did Incarnum even sell well enough to warrant it? I like the concept, and I know they had some serious potential, but the powers were really blah.

Draconic: Just a totally random guess here, but one I think works. Could well be their own power source. Dragon Shaman, Sorcerer, Dragonfire Adept...could work. Could very well work.

What do you think? Any further ideas for power sources are welcome.

 

[Szatany]

*I* think there are already 10+ threads exactly about what you're writing. Go find them

 

[BASHMAN]

I'm sure the 3rd party publishers will no doubt glut the OGL market with their own power sources. Ki, Chi, Chakra, Do, Tao, and insert your eastern philosophical energy name here, will all be made as books I bet.

 

[Glyfair]

I'm sure the 3rd party publishers will no doubt glut the OGL market with their own power sources. Ki, Chi, Chakra, Do, Tao, and insert your eastern philosophical energy name here, will all be made as books I bet.

Shadow, evil, muppets, power rangers (wait, that's just a "talent tree" for rangers)

 

[Nifft]

muppets

And the sample NPCs will have easy to pronounce names...

Cheers, -- N

 

[FourthBear]

I do wonder how they'll deal with the fact that some power sources are defined far more broadly than others. The typical example being Arcane versus Martial. While the Arcane power group encompasses every power imaginable (except for healing, which many arcanophiles fight to include as well!), many people have the Martial power source being limited to realistic combat moves (no wuxia, thank you). It does seem a bit unfair that the better defined, more limited power sources sit on the same shelf. Of course, another problem exists between the broadly defined power sets. If arcane, divine and psionics are all so broadly defined such that any effect could fall under each, then what distinguishes them from each other?

 

[WarlockLord]

Far Realms (Cthulhu & friends) better be printed by WoTC.

Why?


CTHULHU! WOO-HOO! WOO-HOO FOR CTHULHU!

 

[The_Fan]

Personally, I'm all for some Wuxia style moves for Martial characters, depending on how you define that.

Blocking arrows with your sword is okay. Running across a wall is okay. Redirecting an attack so it hits the guy behind you is very cool. But I'd rather have things like making your sword catch fire, melting into shadows, or outright flying be the domain of Ki.

Far Realm could be a power source of sorts. Perhaps Madness? Nah, too much like Psionics.

Shadow is possible, and they might put the Illusionist there instead of making it Arcane.