Psionics Too Psi-Fi?

[Diamond Cross]

Psi-fi is a pun for the phrase sci-fi.

The thing is I don't understand is why are psionics considered too psi-fi?

I've never thought of them as such.

For example, any psychic ability can be considered psionic.Haven't there there been some characters in fantasy books that have been able to speak with the dead.

 

[Michael Silverbane]

Some folks just don't find the pseudo-sciencey naming conventions to their taste for fantasy gaming. Others don't find psionincs systems to be different enough from magic to bother adding in. Other people have different reasons than these, as well.

Personally, I am a-okay with the mixing of fantasy and science fiction elements in my weird fiction tales.

 

[SKyOdin]

I think the problem is the name. Psionic sounds too much like "electronic", and a lot of the other parts of the naming scheme of powers and such sound too scientific to many peoples' ears. Personally, I just don't like the name "psionic" because it is another of those terms used exclusively by D&D for fairly commonplace fictional elements.

I have no problem with psychic powers in my D&D though.

 

[Nifft]

Fourth'd for the names. They don't fit some flavors of fantasy at all.

The powers themselves? Are basically just another way of doing magic.

Cheers, -- N

 

[FireLance]

Frankly, I think that the only factors that distinguish psionics from any other type of magic are the name and direct mind-to-mind combat (with explicit attack and defense modes). Almost everything else has an analogue in arcane or divine magic: mind reading, mind control, moving objects with the mind, healing, changing shape, teleportation, divination, creating and controlling energy, etc.

Even the fact that you only need to concentrate to activate psionics (as opposed to using verbal, somatic, and material components or foci for "regular" magic) can be explained as psionics being some kind of supernatural talent or magical ability that eschews such requirements.

 

[nicholasgeorg]

To me, I associate psionics with Akira and RIFTS, neither of which are very Greyhawkey or traditionally D&Dlike. But I love the 4e psionics. I built a great party with a pair of elf siblings: younger psionic sister and protective older ranger brother. Great flavor, and I think it fits great in both Eberron and PoL.

 

[Hussar]

Genre history has a lot to do with it too. Psionics is just an SF word for magic. It has little or no science to back it up, but, we can stuff it into an SF setting because it's not ((nudge nudge, wink, wink)) really magic. It allows SF authors to have a plot tool without having to actually do any real research into how something like this would actually work.

In most fantasy settings, OTOH, you don't have to cloak magic in something else. It's magic and in fantasy, magic's just fine. Even though the effects are pretty much identical, the trappings and associations are different.

For me, that's generally why I don't want "psionics" in a fantasy setting. In my mind, they're not needed. Not the effects, mind you. I have no problems with a kind of mind powered magic - see David Edding's the Will and the Word for a fantasy version of psionics. Steven Erikson's Malazan series has a few types of magic that are very close to either illusions or psionics, although they're not branded as such.

In other words, why do you need the term in fantasy? Psionics is "SF Magic". You don't need to hide behind any sort of pseudo science in fantasy, so, if you have mind magic, just call it that.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have no issue with psi in fantasy, especially since the stuff got all tangled up with mysticism at one point.

 

[mattcolville]

There's a great bit in Venture Bros where Dr. Venture and Dr. Orpheus argue about how they're both doing the same thing, just with different names. To Dr. Venture, this is obvious. To Dr. Orpheus, this is blashpemous.

We could very easily do the same think with Magic and SF. If there were no Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, we'd invent it.

In spite of this, I submit most players would not accept, as a given, that their fantasy game should have laser blasters and powered armor, even if the people in the setting just think of them as "another kind of magic."

Psionics is the same thing.

THAT we could say "oh it's just like magic" is beside the point. We could do that with any SF, and people have. The point is...it's not magic. It's telepathy and psychic powers and these are SF tropes. Not fantasy tropes. Except in those few instances that are explicitly "fantasy as far-future science."

Indeed, the first broadcast episode of Star Trek, Where No Man Has Gone Before is about psionics. Everyone gets it. No one says "why are they casting spells on a Science Fiction show?"

So while I accept that some people like Psionics in their Fantasy, I submit that they are the outliers.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Are you callin' me an outlier?

THEM'S FIGHTIN' WORDS!