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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aaron L" data-source="post: 6066475" data-attributes="member: 926">I've always subscribed to the idea that psionic ability is something that is inherent in everyone and can be learned with effort, but some people have such powerful potential that it erupts from them without any effort or education required.  I like to use the difference between Professor Xavier and Dr. Strange as an example (especially considering that I read on another board, Dragonsfoot I think, that Gary Gygax was a big fan of Dr. Strange and he was a big inspiration for the inclusion of psionics in 1eAD&D... something that I thought was just amazingly cool when I read it, because I am a HUGE Dr. Strange fan.) Professor X was born a mutant, his mutation being an altered brain that possessed an inherent talent for telepathy so powerful it manifested itself spontaneously, without any effort needed on his part to learn to tap into it.  That doesn't mean that he hasn't refined his natural talent, or learned how to better use and harness his telepathy as he got older (because he clearly has), just that the initial "blooming" of his power was a natural byproduct of his extremely powerful mutant brain.  His mutation was increased intelligence, and enormously increased telepathic potential.   He is a natural telepath.And then you have Dr. Strange.  Strange's telepathy is a separate ability from his use of magic; he doesn't cast a "telepathy" spell, he learned telepathy as one discipline among many on his path to Mastery of the Mystic Arts.  His telepathy, astral projection, and the like are all separate supernatural disciplines he learned along with his magic, in order to be a complete mage, with talents in all of the potential human supernatural abilities.  He is a learned telepath.Likewise, I've always considered the various "psionic" spells in D&D (and it's descendants,) such as ESP, Teleport, Astral Projection, and so on, to be tapping into the natural potential for these inherent abilities of the sapient races.  When a magic-user casts ESP, the spell uses magic to temporarily activate the dormant telepathy centers of his brain for the duration of the spell.  Likewise with Teleport, Telekinesis, Astral Projection, and others.  He hasn't learned to use those parts of his brain "naturally" so he needs a magical "crutch" to "turn them on," and once the power of the spell is used up, they return to dormancy.To continue with my earlier example: in D&D terms Prof. X would be a single class Psionicist- being totally dedicated to learning the use of his naturally occurring telepathy, he has reached levels just not possible for anyone else.Dr. Strange, however, would be a multi-class Magic-User/Psionicist (likely with some levels of Cleric [of the Vishanti], and maybe even a few levels of Monk mixed in there, too.  All learned as part of his training in the Ancient One's Tibetan mystical tradition.)  But aside from his basic training in psychic abilities and martial arts, he focused on his magic-use, and become the most powerful mage in Earths dimension.  (And was the Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth Dimension, the title held by the most powerful mage of a dimensional plane... until they took that away from him in the past few years, in an utterly pointless and stupid move which I absolutely DESPISED.)  Dr. Druid the Sorcerer Supreme?!  You've gotta be KIDDING me! And then they just killed him off a few months later, so now NO ONE is the Sorcerer Supreme!  Comics have been nothing but disappointing to me the past few years *sigh*) ...But I digress.  Sorry bout that.Prof. X is the more powerful telepath, both because of his mutation and his focused dedication to telepathy.Doc Strange learned his telepathy alongside with magic (and perhaps also alongside divine Cleric-style magic granted by the Vishanti,)  He therefore isn't as powerful in his telepathy and astral projection as Prof. X, BUT he has magical artifacts that augment his learned abilities and somewhat make up for it (the Eye/Amulet of Agamotto being especially notable in aiding his astral projection.)  He has even admitted that he isn't as powerful a telepath as Professor X, even WITH the Eye. (Just how powerful the Prof would be with the Eye hasn't been explored, as far as I know.)  But it is important to remember that Strange's telepathic abilities are NOT magical; they are learned psychic abilities.  He doesn't call upon any powers, utter any rhyming spells, or even make any somatic gestures when he uses his psychic abilities (such as his classic somatic gesture of extended thumb, pointer finger, and pinky, with the middle two fingers folded back.)  He sometimes puts his fingers to his temples, but then again so does Prof. X, in what I assume is a concentration aid (the classic Standard Psychic Stance, as TVTropes calls it.)This is one reason why I love having Wizards with just a few levels of Psion mixed in, to better model the Dr. Strange type of Mage, who mostly uses magic spells but who has also learned psychic abilities.  Strange is a very well-rounded wizard, a complete Mage, and his title of Master of the Mystic Arts is very apt.</blockquote>

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