XPH Variant Psionics are Different (Diminished)

[Eye Tyrant]

I was wodering which rules are most popular. I would like to differentiate Magic and Psionics, but it sounds as if the "totally different" approach sounds like a bunch of extra work. What about the "Diminished" approach? Anyone prefer one over the other? Why?

 

[Spatula]

Magic & Psi being the same is certainly the easiest way to go. If you're want psi to have a slightly different feel, the diminished version of magic & psi are different works for me.

 

[Telperion]

I would have put mine down as "other", but since there was no such option...

I use the S&SS version that can be found in Relics and Rituals 2. Things go beyond "totally different" in that world. Here's how:

First use the Psionics are Different rule and then add the following.

Dispelling and Negating: Doesn't happen. There are no spells to dispel or dampen that cross the border between Psionics and Magic.

Mind-Affecting spells and powers: You got a racial bonus against magic (dwarves: +2 against spells and spell-like abilities)? Doesn't work against Psionics. Exception: charm, compulsion and mind-affecting bonuses function just fine.

Spells and Power Resistance:
SR doesn't protect against Powers and the same is true the other way around.

The Scarred Lands have very few psionic creatures so there aren't all that many to be faced anyway. Unless a party specifically goes out of its way to find psionic stuff I usually throw a maximum of one psionic NPC their way per' campaign, and depending on the circumstances maybe half a dozen psionic creatures.

It just keeps things very interesting to introduce a bogey man whose Powers' the characters can't detect, counter or explain in any reasonable way. It also makes Psionics the most hated capability in the whole Campaign Setting. Basically everyone has a "kill on sight" instinct for psionic characters. Of course only the heroic or the very stupid actually try to kill psionic characters. Since they are so rare they also tend to be fairly powerful. Most people just run for the hills, while they are screaming for help. Not that your common farmer can really make a difference between psionics and magic. On the other hand Sorcerers are hated almost as much as Psionic characters, so it usually doesn't make much of a difference. Rogue wizards are very rare, since their behaviour and conduct is tightly monitored and their lives are fairly well controlled. Your average wizard works for some kingdom as part of the military.

Note that the above statements are generalizations, and they don't apply everywhere in the Scarred Lands. Just for most of the "civilized" world...

 

[Tarril Wolfeye]

IMC, we use Magic & Psionics are the same, but I'm working on some Feats and/or Prestige Classes to act as if the diminished/different variant was in effect for this character. To get the balance right, some tweaking will obviously be required...

 

[Eye Tyrant]

I would have put mine down as "other", but since there was no such option...

Uh, because I'm concerned only with XPH...

First use the Psionics are Different rule and then add the following.

Dispelling and Negating: Doesn't happen. There are no spells to dispel or dampen that cross the border between Psionics and Magic.

...and isn't that using the "As Different" rules as written in both the PsiHB and XPH?

 

[Staffan]

If you do use different psionics, I recommend letting them interact on an effect basis, but not on a "power source" basis. For example, dispel psionics wouldn't affect a magic spell and vice versa, but a protection from evil stops psionic mind-control just as surely as it stops magic mind-control. The only spells/powers I can think of off-hand that would be non-interactive this way are the basic ones: detect magic/psionics, dispel magic/psionics, globe of invulnerability and anti-magic field.

 

[Telperion]

Uh, because I'm concerned only with XPH...



...and isn't that using the "As Different" rules as written in both the PsiHB and XPH?

No, it's not the same. There is no "creature evolution" or "Specialty Spells and Powers". There's just nothing to bridge the gap between the two.

EDIT: in my mind this concerns the XPH, since that is the source material, although the variants I'm talking about aren't included in that book.

 

[Nifft]

I'm playing "other".

Psionics Are Different, but effects are vulnerable, no matter their source. For example, Aura Alteration can disrupt any [Compulsion]. Shatter Mind Blank can break a Psionic or Magic Mind Blank. Likewise, Break Enchantment can destroy any

The feats Anti-Psionic Mage and Anti-Mage Psion (new house feat) allow characters to target effects of the opposite type with a Dispel, albeit at a diminished effect (-4 caster level).

-- N