Which Psionics rules do you use?

[Spatula]

There's also the Psychic's Handbook to consider:
http://www.greenronin.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?prodid=1306
Claims to cover both D&D and Modern. and looks like it should be available soon.

Although from looking at the preview, it looks like it might have the 'too-powerful abilities for your level' problem that 2E had...

 

[glass]

Further to Spatulas post and my previous on, a few more things:

2e psionics had a prerequisite system which was supposed to stop 3rd level psionicists from getting disintegrate, but didn't. The revised version added minimum levels to the prerequisite for some of the powers, which helped a little.

The main difference between the systems was the revised version used a roll high system like combat, rather than the roll under ability score of the original version. It even introduce mental armour class.

glass.

 

[kolvar]

To make some clarifications: R&RII uses the rules from If Thoughts could Kill. Mindscapes expands those rules. The Psionics Compendium takes a different aproach to the same rules, expanding them, too.
The best different aproach at the moment, I know of, is the one of Sleeping Empire/ Kingdom (?) using few feats and skill. There was another, very similar one on the net, but I can not find the link at the moment. A fourth aproach can be found here, in some respects a bit overpowered, in others underpowered, a bit to complicated. Many feats, few skills.
To get rid of the "gay" (and I always thought it meant happy) stones, Psionics Compendium could be useful, because it grants the psion additional "powers", which could be expanded to drop the stone (or just grant a feat everytime the stone gets to a new level as well as on first).

 

[Piratecat]

Now, here in America, the word 'gay' (in the context that I used it) can easily be interchanged with the words 'dumb', 'stupid', 'geeky', 'retarded', 'lame', 'silly', etc. But if I called them dumb, would mute persons in the world suddenly feel offended?

Not here they aren't. This is your admin speaking, and just so we're clear, that's an unacceptable synonym for 'dumb' on the boards. I'd appreciate it if you'd use something else next time.

If this is somehow a problem, feel free to email me.

No more vocabulary digressions, please; from here on out, let's keep this thread focused on psionics.

 

[AeroDm]

I've been trying to follow the three paths of this thread and am a little lost, but one thing that I didn't notice a lot of (I skimmed, sorry if I missed it) was talk of the Revised Book. What rules are being redone and how many plan to purchase it?

My entire group owns the psy book, but after playing once or twice with it we dropped psy from the camp. Sometimes the flavor comes across really well, other times...

 

[Spatula]

The revised book is the 3.5 update of the psihandbook. It's also supposed to address some of the problems that people have had with the original. There've been some previews of its contents in the last few Dragons.

 

[jdfrenzel]

I too am waiting on Psychic's Handbook from GR.The others in that series haven't missed IMO. I can't speak to Spatula's comment on power balance, since I skipped 2e.

What I'd really like to see is a psionic treatment brazen enough to strip psyshic-based class abilities (like barbarian rage and many monk abilities) and replace them with a unified mechanic, preferably feats and skills.


--- John

 

[Staffan]

The other thing about 2E psionics was that power activation was not automatic. You had to roll a d20 and score lower than a target number (based off your ability scores) to get one of your powers off. Stronger powers were harder to get off. So to use ESP, you might need to roll lower than your Wisdom - 2, but to Disintigrate something, you'd need to roll lower than your Constitution - 6. If you rolled a 20, bad things happened. And if you rolled a 1, good things happened.

Nitpick: The system was based on rolling as high as possible but below your power score (stat+modifier). So, the good things happened if you rolled exactly equal to your power score, not on a 1. Some powers had special results on a 1, but IIRC those were more along the lines of getting a weakened effect.

The 3E psion/magic transparency likely resulted from B, above. I don't think it's as big as an issue now, since in 3E psionic powers that affect others allow for a saving throw, and there's also Power Resistance. But the transparency is also a convenience. What a pain it would be to have a character with magic & psionic items and buffs get hit with a targetted dispel magic (or negate psionics). Or to have to double up all your defensive abilities - you'd need both a magic and a psionic see invisibility if you're worried about invisible attackers.

Personally, I prefer "separate power sources but transparent effects". This would mean that something like dispel magic would only hit magic effects and power resistance would be useless against spells, but see invisibility would work regardless of the way you turn invisible.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Hey, guys. I was wondering which rules everyone uses for psionics.

I'm using a modified version of the psionics from the Fading Suns d20 rules. I have an (outdated) model on my forums...

The Class: http://www.icehex.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1354
The Powers: http://www.icehex.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1356
The Feats (well, one Feat...): http://www.icehex.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1355

The original (Holistic Designs) is designed for a sci-fi environment, with a magic system that matches it; What the links above show is my first-run playing with the numbers to make it work alongside D&D spells. I expect the release/playtest model to be complete by this weekend. If anyone likes the direction, I can post a link to the finished product (Friday or Saturday) which I am happy to say is turning out far more functional and less convoluted.

[Edit: We also use 3E psionics, but we call it "Mysticism" and it's classified as Arcane Magic.]

 

[enworldatemylogin]

another skill and feat psi system:
http://www.geocities.com/strutinan/AcademeMentus.zip