DungeonmasterCal
First Post
kyloss said:
It's from Lords of Madness, in the section on the Illithids. They hail from a far distant future where they used time travel to escape the end of the universe.
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Psionics: Do you use 'em or did you lose 'em
- Thread starter Dannyalcatraz
- Start date
It's from Lords of Madness, in the section on the Illithids. They hail from a far distant future where they used time travel to escape the end of the universe.
Psion
Adventurer
Joshua Dyal said:
As if it really matters. Yeah, Alcubierre drives, quantum tunneling, and wormholes can make some SF more plausible, but only a narrow subset of SF even tries. The stark dichotomy that some suggest does or should exist in the speculative fiction genre does not exist. It's much more a continuum. Claims that the dichotomy does or should exist are just a vain attempt to prove that one person's tastes are somehow more valid than another's.
How does the psionics system as presented in D&D use any sort of pseudo-scientific rationale for the powers manifested by psions, psychic warriors, etc.?
From XPH, p. 4:
"Simply put, psionics is the art of tapping the mind's potential. ... Your character's mind is an infinite metaphorical plane, where all things are possible." [Emphasis added.]
In fact, the addition of options for augmenting powers on the fly makes psionics seem far less formulaic and predictable than the standard magic system, making magic (be it arcane or divine) seem scientific by comparison.
From XPH, p. 4:
"Simply put, psionics is the art of tapping the mind's potential. ... Your character's mind is an infinite metaphorical plane, where all things are possible." [Emphasis added.]
In fact, the addition of options for augmenting powers on the fly makes psionics seem far less formulaic and predictable than the standard magic system, making magic (be it arcane or divine) seem scientific by comparison.
Trickstergod
First Post
Dislike them, mainly due to presentation. Crystals come across as too New Age-y, the terminology often looks like scientific and medical jargon, and the source of it generally has an implied ring of evolution, or occasionaly out-right said (like with gith).
When the presentation at least meets me half-way, though, I'm willing to give a little. I don't mind psionics as much in Eberron, for example, thanks to the sense that it's coming from the realm of dreams (at least in part) as opposed to any hyper-evolved mind, as well as the fact that psionic creatures like mind-flayers are the result of direct nigh-deific intervention and alteration rather than any kind of silly, time-travelling paragon's of evolution and genetic mutation.
As for the argument about psionics being pure fantasy, well, sure, in the same sense that the Force is. Which also has science-fiction connotations behind it. Mind-powers might not have any scientific basis, but they are strongly a part of the sciene fiction genre, from Babylon 5 and Star Trek to the X-Files and Minority Report. Psionics often is to science-fiction what magic often is to fantasy.
And, like was pointed out with Star Wars, sometimes the only real problem or difference is a matter of presentation.
When the presentation at least meets me half-way, though, I'm willing to give a little. I don't mind psionics as much in Eberron, for example, thanks to the sense that it's coming from the realm of dreams (at least in part) as opposed to any hyper-evolved mind, as well as the fact that psionic creatures like mind-flayers are the result of direct nigh-deific intervention and alteration rather than any kind of silly, time-travelling paragon's of evolution and genetic mutation.
As for the argument about psionics being pure fantasy, well, sure, in the same sense that the Force is. Which also has science-fiction connotations behind it. Mind-powers might not have any scientific basis, but they are strongly a part of the sciene fiction genre, from Babylon 5 and Star Trek to the X-Files and Minority Report. Psionics often is to science-fiction what magic often is to fantasy.
And, like was pointed out with Star Wars, sometimes the only real problem or difference is a matter of presentation.
CM
Adventurer
The experience for the standard D&D fantasy games I participate in is that psionic characters can be quite powerful, but they don't make very good team players. The vast majority of their powers are personal-use only, so they can't really replace a wizard or cleric. The two players with psionic characters (in different campaigns) both are dissatisfied with this aspect of their powers.
On the other hand, in the dark sun campaign I DM, psionics are a lot of fun, since every character has at least one wild talent and can "discover" more later on.
On the other hand, in the dark sun campaign I DM, psionics are a lot of fun, since every character has at least one wild talent and can "discover" more later on.
Another thought:
If you look at the fiction of the past 100 years or so, Gypsies almost always have powers attributed to them.
In some sources, these powers are clearly mystical, dependent upon their "bloodline" or some such.
On the other hand, you also have Gypsies who have developed the "mysterious powers of the mind."
The concept that its a binary decision- psychic abilities are or are not part of fantasy or are only part of sci-fi- is incorrect.
The fiction that forms the conceptual groundworks for RPGs in general have no such distinction. It is as another poster put it: a continuum. While it is true that Psi abilities are the darling of Sci-Fi, it also pops up in fantasy and horror. Its predominance in Sci-Fi is sharpened because of the utter ABSENCE of magic. 99% of the fantastic aspects of Sci-Fi are due to encounters with higher technologies.
Heck, there's a lot of stuff- spells and concepts- within the game are right out of psychic literature. "Astral Plane," "Astral Projection" and "Silver Cords," are most definitely NOT from fantasy, but are indeed psi concepts that have been grafted into D&D's magic system.
If you look at the fiction of the past 100 years or so, Gypsies almost always have powers attributed to them.
In some sources, these powers are clearly mystical, dependent upon their "bloodline" or some such.
On the other hand, you also have Gypsies who have developed the "mysterious powers of the mind."
The concept that its a binary decision- psychic abilities are or are not part of fantasy or are only part of sci-fi- is incorrect.
The fiction that forms the conceptual groundworks for RPGs in general have no such distinction. It is as another poster put it: a continuum. While it is true that Psi abilities are the darling of Sci-Fi, it also pops up in fantasy and horror. Its predominance in Sci-Fi is sharpened because of the utter ABSENCE of magic. 99% of the fantastic aspects of Sci-Fi are due to encounters with higher technologies.
Heck, there's a lot of stuff- spells and concepts- within the game are right out of psychic literature. "Astral Plane," "Astral Projection" and "Silver Cords," are most definitely NOT from fantasy, but are indeed psi concepts that have been grafted into D&D's magic system.
TroyXavier
First Post
Love them. I've made many psionic characters over the years.
Love them so much I have done away with traditional magic in my current campaign.
Joshua Dyal said:
Actually, there is evidence for psychic phenomena. In fact, the U.S. Air Force had a remote viewing program for over 20 years. There have been numerous missing persons cases solved with aid from so called clairvoyants. There have been many people who have demonstrated with reasonable degree, clairvoyant abilities that cannot be explained in whole.
There also are yogi, who can perform incredible physical acts with their bodies, demonstrating extreme willpower/mind over matter. Of course, there is also deja-vu, which lots of folks experience, but we still don't know what it really is, other than mental salience tripping over itself perhaps.
Now, these are not to be confused with anything in the game. Some have felt that perhaps these events are due to freakish coincedence, and others feel they are representative of capabilities of the human mind that we simply have not discovered the limits of.
As for psionics in the game. Love them, but as something entirely different from magic, and preferrably, as a player, with a lesser presence in the gameworld. If I'm playing one, I wanna be the only one! As a dm, I plan to use some of the races from XPH, but still tone psionics down as compared to visibilty compared to magic.
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