Psionics: Yea or Nay?

[Celebrim]

But if you see wizards as guys with books, knowledge, wands, amulets and rituals, drawing on external sources of energy such as demons, spirits or simply forces in the 'natural' world...

I would argue that the D&D wizard has never been particularly tied to traditions like Shamanism and Diablery. For that you have to look at classes like Shaman, Sha'ir, and Binder. Certainly I would associate the D&D wizard more with 'harnessing thier own personal energies' to a greater degree than I would 'commanding the spirits' (unless conjuration/summoning was their particular specialization).

As for paraphenalia, what about crystals, crystal balls, incense, tarot cards, and so forth? Aren't those 'psionic' trappings, or is the attempt here to claim that 'psionic' and 'psychic' have some sort of sharp division other than genera trappings (it's 'psionic' if you have space ships)?

 

[Doug McCrae]

Ariosto presents an interesting alternative view. Though today psychic mutants puts one more in mind of the X-Men than Golden Age sci-fi. Or, as Celebrim says, the sorcerer, the most X-Men-y of D&D classes (apart from the Soulknife). The other place for such beings in D&D is as monsters, antagonists.

Ugly mutant freaks. Set a bunch of giant purple golems on them.

 

[Doug McCrae]

I would argue that the D&D wizard has never been particularly tied to traditions like Shamanism and Diablery.

...

As for paraphenalia, what about crystals, crystal balls, incense, tarot cards, and so forth?

You're absolutely right. I'm departing from the D&D rules significantly in an attempt to distinguish psychic powers and wizardry.

 

[Desdichado]

To be perfectly honest, when someone says that they want 'Psionics' in a game, beyond the request for a certain mechanical system I have absolutely no idea what they mean and I'm not sure that they do either.

In general, I find it's a bad idea to say that just because I don't understand something, that therefore nobody else must understand it either.

I think it people say that they want psionics in their game, then assuming that they don't know what they actually want is a pretty insulting position to take. The flavor difference between a wizard and a psion, or a sorcerer and a wilder, or whatever, may be thin if you pull out for a big picture view, but it's still significant enough to make them feel like potentially profoundly different characters too.

That said... don't discount the want for differing mechanics for its own sake.

 

[Celebrim]

In general, I find it's a bad idea to say that just because I don't understand something, that therefore nobody else must understand it either.

Perhaps they do. All I ask is that if they understand it, they explain it to me. Unless it involves the sort of ability it takes to win the Fields Medal, I don't consider that an unreasonble request.

I think it people say that they want psionics in their game, then assuming that they don't know what they actually want is a pretty insulting position to take.

Way to get passive aggressive there.

 

[Doug McCrae]

The main difficulty with making psionics feel substantially different is that the wizard, or magic-user, already has a lot of the psychic powers, such as clairvoyance and ESP.

D&D suffers from having been created by accretion. The wizard's powers are too broad. The issue with the wizard stepping on the thief's toes - invisibility, spider climb, levitate - is well known. With psionics, it's the same problem.

If all the elements of D&D had been created at once, the psychic powers could have been given to the psychic classes, the druid would get shapeshifting and illusion, and the wizard would probably be broken up into the summoner, the necromancer and the flashbang.

But books have to be sold. What can you do?

 

[Ariosto]

So are you saying that when people want 'psionics', they mean that they want ...

I'm saying that when I want 'psionics', I want born psychic athletes instead of scholars of sorcery. Less Harry, more Carrie! The outcast thing, the fear and loathing, is maybe not necessary, but is a notable theme. If being born with psychic potential comes (or is thought to come) from spiritual development in previous lives, then that is a slightly different matter, because of the holiness involved.

But neither then is the traditional D&D wizard.

I disagree.

It's never really been said in D&D whether Wizards are gifted, and possessing of a innate power by birth.

It's been said a lot about 'muties'!

Are you trying to say that psyches are made ...

I am trying to say that their power is entirely natural, of creatures -- not supernatural, of the Creator(s) before the world. This is in contrast with the primal creative powers typically employed by magicians, which are able to break seeming laws because they are aspects of the deeper true Laws of the cosmos. The psychic has naught to do with Runes or the Tree of Life, angels or demons or the like.

So a Sorcerer then?

No, it is rather to the point that no aid of evil spirits (or any supernatural entities) is involved -- the psychic's power is innate. If it deals with spirits at all, then they are souls (or equivalent) of natural beings.

If a psychic's gift is, say, clairvoyance or telepathy, then that defines what the psychic can do. Wanting to turn invisible or levitate won't make it so, if one is not made that way. It's like having either hands or wings.

 

[Ariosto]

But books have to be sold. What can you do?

Pick and choose, for a start. I have heard that the fellows at TSR were a bit amused when they found that people were indiscriminately dumping into their campaigns everything from Blackmoor, and Greyhawk, and any other campaign, as soon as it was published in a book or magazine.

 

[knightofround]

I voted for I'm Brannich Blacksmoke.

I love the idea of psionics. I really do. I enjoy heavy magic campaigns, where magic emulates (and in some ways surpass) modern technology in many ways while coming up short in many other ways. I really enjoy the idea of harnessing the innate mind to progress in a low tech society. I like the idea of this competing with martial, divine, and arcane power sources. (I never bought the idea of primal)

But I can't vote "bring it on" because I've never seen psionics done well in any system I've played. White Wolf stuff, GURPS, Star Wars, D&D. To be honest I haven't tried psionics in 4E yet, mostly because I've been burned so many times by the "cool factor" that when I actually tried it in play it was so disappointing.

I can't vote "maybe, only if it's done a certain way" because I have no clue what the proper way would be...the only solution I can think of is dismantling the D&D psi power point system completely and make something entirely new in its place. But that's not really fixing the current D&D psi system, that's destroying it and moving the fluff. And I have no idea what to attach the fluff to.

I can't vote "keep them away from each other" because I do like having its flavor in most of campaign roles, and the fact that its so different (and inevitably, so difficult to balance) is refreshing while also be frustrating.

Ahhh, psionics. Sooo many mixed emotions.

 

[pawsplay]

The Vancian wizard, who holds spells in his mind, and can become more powerful by expanding his mental capacity, could be seen as a step or two closer to a psychic than the traditional Western hermetic wizard who relies on knowledge, ritual and paraphernalia.

On the other hand, the Vancian wizard in the original Vance often uses his psychic powers to summon and bind supernatural beings.