[Psionics] Full support?

[Dave Turner]

This is inspired by response to another Eberron thread.

It has slowly dawned on me that psionics in Eberron has not recieved anything close to full support in the book. As is the case in almost every D&D product ever produced (Dark Sun aside), psionics has been essentially overlooked and given only token mention. Here are some examples of what I mean.

The psionic regions of Eberron are not on Khorvaire. The psionic kingdoms and regions of the setting are on an entirely different continent that is only sketched out (Sarlona, with Adar and Riedra). Niether Adar or Riedra receive the same amount of detail and development as Karrnath, Breland, or even the Demon Wastes. The elven homeland Aerenal, located in the same section as Adar and Riedra, receives the combined space that Adar and Riedra does. And why are there no maps of Adar and Riedra? Why were the two psionic regions of the setting moved away from the main continent and given half-assed development? That doesn't sound like full support to me.

Where are the psionic NPCs? Aside from the "iconic" psion listed in the Character Classes section, there isn't a SINGLE psionic NPC in the entire book. There is no mention of the fact that psionics is the sole province of the kalashtar (the token psionic race in Eberron). So there must presumably be psionic members of other races. More importantly, there must be psionic members of dragonmarked houses. But not a single NPC whose class levels are mentioned is psionic. Surely there's ONE that could be mentioned? There's nothing in the rules stating that a psion can't have a dragonmark. There are 16 million people on Khorvaire. Not one psionic NPC? That doesn't sound like full support to me.

Why is there no discussion of the influence of psionics in the setting? We see plenty of magitech influence. We see the Church of the Silver Flames. We have *two* druidic orders. There is a single psionic organization mentioned and they are clearly meant as NPCs and antagonists. There are no psionic organizations for a psionic PC to hang his hat on. Leaving aside the psionic organizations, the subtlety of psionics is not even mentioned. Psions make much better spies than bards or rogues, since they can manifest their powers without components or displays (with a successful Concentration check). Soulknives are the best assassins going, since their powerful blades are summoned to their hands even in psionic null zones (again, with a check).

As has been the case in every D&D setting, psionics is the red-headed stepchild of Eberron. Lip service is paid to it in return for the ability to include the words "psionic support" in marketing copy. If I'm wrong about the second class status of psionics in Eberron, I'm happy to have the record corrected.

 

[Henry]

Before the people with torches and pitchforks gather, remember:

This is the FIRST Eberron Supplement. There will be others. Those may indeed include Psionic NPC's and items. Let's not assume that support is bereft because the core book doesn't have a lot of Psionic info in it.

If they had included a bunch of Psionic info, the detractors of Psionics in the setting would have had problems with it, then, because the book would have had a "bunch of useless info."

BTW, there is more than just Kalashtar mentioned. In the monsters, attention is given to the Inspired, to Living Vessels, and the Riedran writeup is indeed two pages long, just as long as the sections on the Mror Holds and Zilargo.

 

[Goobermunch]

Ditto for what Henry said. Also, WotC made the conscious choice to place psionics in Eberron but to not require the XPH for its use. This means that they can't put too much Psionic info in the CSB. However, I would expect to see substantially more psionic information in a forthcoming book dealing with Sarlona and at least some more info in region specific books dealing with Adar and Reidra.

I'd give them a few months before rallying the mob.

--G

 

[Psion]

Me, I'm glad for what we have. Some books, it gets relegated to a sidebar or ignored alltogether. It's like "you can do what you want in the privacy of your own setting, but don't make us look at your dirty psionics."

 

[Rauol_Duke]

Eberron was never promised "full support" for psionics. Yes, there is a place for pisonics in Eberron, and I'm sure it will be expanded upon, but Eberron was never supposed to be a "psionic" setting.

 

[grimslade]

Psionics: Play or Punt

There is sufficient coverage of this optional set of rules in the ECS. You can either drop the rule set from the campaign with little hassle or focus your players campaign on psionics. There is coverage of several psionic races (i.e. Kalashtar, Inspired) organizations(Dreaming Dark, Thousand Eyes, Quori), monsters (quori, daelkyr), psionic items (eberron dragonshards, including special rules just for psionic races). There is also a psionic NPC. THe mayor of the entry city of Droamm is a 6th level psion. And an Illithid.
Eberron's focus is magic. Korvaire is a continent brimming with magical applications. Psionics are an abberation; an invasion from another plane. It is a very cool part of the setting but it is a sideshow to the magic-tech.
A completely psionic campaign could be played in Eberron. Focus it on Sarlona. Kalashtar fighting the good fight or Thousand Eyes eliminating threats from the glory of Riedra.
A blended campaign would involve the Dreaming Dark, my favorite villainous organization BTW, and Kalashtar emigres in Sharn, or the Daelkyr threat in the Shadow Marches and Eldeen Reaches.
Or you can easily punt psionics off and play strict CORE book Eberron.
I don't see WotC producing a psionic campaign setting. It is something that the OGL was created for. A setting that has intrigued me is Green Ronin's? Mind Games. Iam not sure on the title. It has a quasi Indian vibe to it. Looked pretty neat.

Grimslade

 

[Dave Turner]

Good points by all. My primary complaint, however, is precisely the middle-ground approach that we get. Supporters on this thread paint it as a feature ("It's easily removed!"), while I see it as a bug ("It's too thinly-sketched to be of any use!").

In my pique, I didn't give proper shrift to the fact that the XPH is considered a fringe book. The Introductory chapter of the book does explicitly mention that everything in the Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and Monster Manual has a place in Eberron. I concede the "full support" critique.

However, the cry that psionics is easily integrated into the setting is a double-edged sword, however, since the reverse also applies. More psionic information could have been given, with a simple sidebar encouraging DMs to excise or convert the material if they didn't like psionics. Heck, they already do this in the racial description of the kalashtar, where the mindlink power is described in magical terms for non-XPH games.

This is the corebook. If psionics is to have any meaningful impact in the setting, it should be featured there. Relegating development of the psionic material to a supplement just reinforces the second-class status of psionics in the setting. As it is, the material is only sparingly included throughout the 320 pg. book. Much of the heavy-lifting is left to the DM. We have plenty of information to handle arcane and divine aspects of the setting, but too little for the psionic. The shortage of material actually highlights the fact that psionics is meant to be as tangential as ever. This criticism is partly inspired by my biased love for psionics, of course.

This could have been WotC's big chance to reverse the traditional love-hate approach to psionics that lies at the core of D&D. The release of the XPH is widely considered to be "psionics done right", with innovative mechanics and flavor. The failure to capitalize on the quality of the XPH is frustrating to me.

 

[derelictjay]

This could have been WotC's big chance to reverse the traditional love-hate approach to psionics that lies at the core of D&D. The release of the XPH is widely considered to be "psionics done right", with innovative mechanics and flavor. The failure to capitalize on the quality of the XPH is frustrating to me.

I agree wholeheartedly with these comments. XPH is an excellent system that has yet to see it's time in the sun, and I had hoped Eberron would give it a chance. Well it...kinda...doesn't on the other hand it...kinda...does. Take a look at Forgotten Realms, for the most part, the designers to a role of tape and just taped it on there. Yeah the Player's Guide to Faerun does include support for psionics, but it also supports books like the Book of Vile Darkness, and Exhalted Might, so really all that book does is port in the other books by WotC. All I'm saying is though Eberron doesn't fully support psionics, it does support psionics in a way that doesn't feel pasted or taped into the campaign setting. Allowing, up front, a psionic player race, and giving them a reason for being there (refugees from another plane).

 

[charlesatan]

This is the corebook. If psionics is to have any meaningful impact in the setting, it should be featured there. Relegating development of the psionic material to a supplement just reinforces the second-class status of psionics in the setting. As it is, the material is only sparingly included throughout the 320 pg. book. Much of the heavy-lifting is left to the DM. We have plenty of information to handle arcane and divine aspects of the setting, but too little for the psionic. The shortage of material actually highlights the fact that psionics is meant to be as tangential as ever. This criticism is partly inspired by my biased love for psionics, of course.

This could have been WotC's big chance to reverse the traditional love-hate approach to psionics that lies at the core of D&D. The release of the XPH is widely considered to be "psionics done right", with innovative mechanics and flavor. The failure to capitalize on the quality of the XPH is frustrating to me.

As mentioned earlier, Eberron, or at least the continent of Khorvaire (which the campaign setting really focuses on), isn't really driven by psionics. It's there, but the world does not revolve around it. Khorvaire revolves around the houses, the politics, and magic (dragonmarks as well as adepts and magewrights).

Of course while that is the case, Eberron is more than just Khorvaire. Maybe in a future supplement, we'll see more on the other continents and about the Inspired and their conflict with the Kalashtar. Heck, at least you have this big organization of villains who use psionics, right?

And unfortunately, no, this is not Dark Sun. Eberron isn't really a full-blown psionic campaign setting. But psionics did get covered in the main book, along with the other mishmash from other books (i.e. possession from BoVD and channeling, deathless for BoED).

 

[Old Fart]

Good points by all. My primary complaint, however, is precisely the middle-ground approach that we get. Supporters on this thread paint it as a feature ("It's easily removed!"), while I see it as a bug ("It's too thinly-sketched to be of any use!").

I think psionics are very well-supported in Eberron, especially considering how close the release dates were between it and the XPH. It seems to me the writers were trying to integrate Psionics around the publishing reality that as the final version of Eberron was being completed, playtesting and last-minute changes to the XPH were ongoing. So the only thing mentioned in length were things the designers felt confident were not going to change enough to preclude inclusion, such as Psions, Illithid, etc.

I would reserve judgement on the integration of Psionics until after we see the first book that is finalized after the release of the XPH. Given that the final draft of a book often goes out months before a realease date, I'm not really going to make a judgment until the second or third Eberron supplement.

Just my 2 coppers.