Mad Hamish
First Post
Any Technology that can be distinguished from magic is insufficienty advanced
<rant>Psionic Magic?! WTF?!
- Thread starter Angellis_ater
- Start date
lukelightning
First Post
Except in Eberron where it's the other way 'round.
Angellis_ater
First Post
You know what guys - you are SO right. Like Jack99 who knows me, he knew I would go bonanza over such a small and pointless detail. And you are right - who seriously cares if there are a few instances of "magic" thrown in there?
Atleast I am happy I prefaced this thread with a <rant> so everyone knew what they were getting into.
@Felon: You are quite correct that I could've thought up a few better ways to put this across. Heck, I could've let it stew for more than 1.2 microseconds and actually started a more giving discussion about it. However, it should be noted that when I write books it is usually NOT in a fit of emotive irritation over something
Sorry for being an ass, if it came across as that. Lets turn this into a more useful thread by lifting the question. If psionics is magic, what ISN'T magic in "the world of D&D"? Any kind of power source surely leads to "magic" - even if it is wushu-styled Martial Magic...
Atleast I am happy I prefaced this thread with a <rant> so everyone knew what they were getting into.
@Felon: You are quite correct that I could've thought up a few better ways to put this across. Heck, I could've let it stew for more than 1.2 microseconds and actually started a more giving discussion about it. However, it should be noted that when I write books it is usually NOT in a fit of emotive irritation over something
Sorry for being an ass, if it came across as that. Lets turn this into a more useful thread by lifting the question. If psionics is magic, what ISN'T magic in "the world of D&D"? Any kind of power source surely leads to "magic" - even if it is wushu-styled Martial Magic...
Heh. While you or I might propose that some sufficiently trained monk-thing doing a Ki Blast (Haduken, anyone?) isn't magic, with a well qualified reason... imagine what a common person would think.
Wizard casts Fireball. Layperson says, oh look, a fireball.
Monk-thing concentrates his essense into a Flaming Ki Blast. Layperson says, oh look, a fireball.
Thats a rather comical way of saying, that while the reason might be different, the effect is still essentially the same.
Another example, actually from a Peter David book, entitled Knight Life, I believe.
At one point, Arthur Penn waves his sword, and his castle suddenly appears in Central Park. When Gwen asked how it did that, he shrugged and simply said "Magic."
When she pressed him, he asked her the same sort of question, referrencing a light switch and a bulb. While she knew that "electricity" made the bulb glow when she flicked the switch, she didn't really understand the "why," but never really thought to question it.
The point is, HOW something works, isn't so important. That it works, sometimes, is reason enough.
Note: I haven't read that book for something like 10 years, so forgive me if my recalling the quote is a bit fuzzy.
Wizard casts Fireball. Layperson says, oh look, a fireball.
Monk-thing concentrates his essense into a Flaming Ki Blast. Layperson says, oh look, a fireball.
Thats a rather comical way of saying, that while the reason might be different, the effect is still essentially the same.
Another example, actually from a Peter David book, entitled Knight Life, I believe.
At one point, Arthur Penn waves his sword, and his castle suddenly appears in Central Park. When Gwen asked how it did that, he shrugged and simply said "Magic."
When she pressed him, he asked her the same sort of question, referrencing a light switch and a bulb. While she knew that "electricity" made the bulb glow when she flicked the switch, she didn't really understand the "why," but never really thought to question it.
The point is, HOW something works, isn't so important. That it works, sometimes, is reason enough.
Note: I haven't read that book for something like 10 years, so forgive me if my recalling the quote is a bit fuzzy.
Journeymanmage
First Post
Wepwawet
Explorer
Don't worry, we all love a good rant and the pointless discussions that follows. But maybe you were too polite, I mean, the thread only has 2 pages!
Last edited:
lukelightning
First Post
Hehe, like I said earlier, the best thing to do with rants is to bring them into RP. Turn your real-life rant into your character's rant. I totally picture a super-genius psion who knows that psionics are the true power and all other power sources are just degenerate offshoots. "There are no gods... your divine power is just psionics molded by your irrational faith in a psychic construct.... arcane? That's just psionics shrouded in superstition. And don't let me get started on primal and martial... oh those poor deluded fools..."
I had pretty much the exact same reaction as you did when I first saw it, so I understand. I also hold psionics dear and close to my heart.
Angellis_ater
First Post
Indeed it can be turned into a fun roleplaying tool rather than something to obsess over. I should've known better, but atleast I am getting something out of this irrational ranting of mine!
So, taking this to a new direction - what are you guys MISSING from Psionics in 4E? Me personally, I'm missing Wilders, Soulknives and perhaps most of all, the Psychic Warrior. While I see the Battlemind being some kind of "psychic warrior" I feel it kindof misses the two flavors of PW that existed - from the metamorphic warrior who gains claws and bite, a more feral warrior, to the "mind knight" who uses telekinetic force fields and summons weapons to fight with.
Stuntman
First Post
4E has reallocated a number of abilities across different classes and perhaps even other power sources. I'm sure that you will find these flavours in other existing classes or future classes. The 4E psion will initially have just the telepathic and telekinentic builds. There is currently no psychometabolic, psychoportation, etc. builds.
The metamorphic warrior flavour seems to have moved to the druid and its shape changing ability. I'm not sure how the battlemind would be able to incorporate it. I cannot recall if the BM can use implements. (I think that most of the powers are weapon powers.) That psionic build that changes your body to allow claw an bite attacks, sound more like an implement power than a weapon power. Perhaps the psion will have such a build in the future.
Wilders are to psions what sorcerers are to wizards. When they made the 4E sorcerer, they took the sorcerer in the draconic or wild magic directions. Wild magic in previous editions were not really associated with sorcerers. I don't recall exactly what the different flavour of wilders other than they were mechanically different (slightly).
The soulknife I find to be pretty cool in that you can manifest your own weapon. If anything, the 4E swordmage seems to resemble the soulknife, but in an arcane flavour.
Similar Threads
