Should Psionics be part of the core in 4th edition?

[Slaved]

The only difference mechanically between arcane and divine is arcane spell failure. So, get rid of that, roll arcane and divine together, and have each class describe where its abilities come from. Next roll together the spell lists, flesh them out, make more spells multiuse to cut down on space and get rid of redudancies. Expand the types slightly and then say which classes get access to which types, much like domains, and you have a very nice, flavorful system, which can be made fairly compactly.

After that toss psionics into the book as well and present it as another style of caster type. A lot of the XPH is a rehash of the phb anyway so while it will take a lot of room it wont take anywhere near as much as the page count of the book.

I would also like to see a skill/feat section for abilities as well though.

If done properly it could all mesh well, hopefully all be balanced, and still fit into the book with perhaps a bit of a page count increase.

So, I voted for yes in the core.

 

[Umbran]

Well, it's a good thing psionics are an addition to the existing systems, not a replacement, eh?

Well, right now, yes. But when one includes them within the core rules, how folks view them subtly change.

It is rather easy for a DM to say that they won't be including the contents of a particular supplement. It is rather more difficult to get players to agree to dropping major sections of the PHB. Not impossible, of course, but there's a psychological distinction between core and supplement that is not to be overlooked lightly.

 

[Psion]

Well, right now, yes. But when one includes them within the core rules, how folks view them subtly change.

Yes, well, this I realize. But even if you did put psionics in the core, it probably wouldn't be to the exclusion of the existing magic system. So I saw the statement I was replying to as being somewhat equivalent to "we like fighters not rangers", as if only one or the other were likely to be present.