Monday 7 April 2014

Rambling Sunday Evening Thoughts on Psionics



Today I was idly perusing the AD&D 2nd Edition Psionics Handbook and wondering what exactly it is about psionics that didn't quite work. Partly it's the complexity - I remember having a devil of a time figuring out how telepathic combat was supposed to work - but mostly I think it's because it isn't at all seamless with what D&D is trying to achieve. Which may seem like an odd thing to say, because D&D has never been Ron-Edwards-Coherent, but what it was during the TSR era was consistent in feel. Part of that came from aesthetics, philosophy of play, and so on, but partly it also came from the rules, and the psionics rules just weren't of a piece with the rest of the game. Instead of the Vancian magic system that existed for mages and the simple number-of-spells-per-day system for priests, instead you suddenly had to start thinking about Psionic Strength Points. Instead of spells being automatically successful, instead psionic powers were quasi-proficiencies which might succeed or fail.

But on the other hand, perversely, psionic powers were at the same time too much like magic. In the final analysis what you could do with psionics was not much different to what you could do with magic, and most of the book was just a big list of different 'powers' which may as well have just been a big list of new spells for wizards. It seemed, for want of a better term, a bit half-arsed.

Which is a shame. What I want in a psionics system is freedom. Whereas having predetermined spells that you have to learn out of a book, or be granted to you by a god, it makes much more sense to me to have a psionics system in which there are much fewer limits - the player is freer to use his imagination in manipulating reality with his mind, which is kind of the point. So instead of a psionic "school" of telekinesis with a limited number of powers, your character just has telekinesis and can do with it what he wants - does he want to fly? Push a tree over? Pick up a rock and fling it? Make the individual atoms in a stick of wood agitate until the wood bursts into flames? Fine, provided he simply makes an appropriate sacrifice. Or, your character has clairsentience - this means he can practice clairvoyance or clairaudience, stretch his mind into the future or past, see behind a wall into the next bedroom or see what is happening a continent away. Again, provided he makes an appropriate sacrifice.

What's an appropriate sacrifice? Since hit points measure physical and mental strain, simply reduce the psionicist character's hit points according to the 'strength' of whatever he's trying to do. Fling a rock? 1 hp. Move a mountain? That's more like 50. 

12 comments:

  1. I never ran or played a game of D&D that had much use of Psionics... but lately I've been thinking Elves should have some innate psionics... to communcate and maybe see through the eyes of animals. It seems like higher powered usage would want a bit of training... if only to increase ability to focus and maintain.
    Not thinking of full blown Scanners or The Power, but those creepy mutants in Beneath The Planet of the Apes, I think Elves should be able to do that stuff.
    HP seems a simple resource... worth giving it a try.

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  2. I like that idea, and think along similar lines. From Metagaming on a lot of magic rules have explored that HP for magic deal. Psionics seems a natural flavor for it.

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  3. Another possible resource to sacrifice would be Wisdom, kind of like spellburn in DCC. I think that would work best if wisdom were somehow a factor in psionics (like roll under to save against psionic attacks?) or in some other way relevant to have a lower score besides zero = brain dead. That might be getting away from the elegant simplicity of paying HP, though.

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    1. I know what you mean, but on the other hand it doesn't quite seem genre-fitting to have psionic powers making you less wise (even though we all know that D&D stats make no real sense!).

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    2. Hmmm, fair enough. I was thinking of recoverable loss to show "brain drain" or weakened willpower from the exertion, but it would be pretty dependent on what wisdom does in your game (as you say, it's far from obvious or consistent)

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  4. I admit I never got psionics to work well. Someone got a lucky roll, and then we ended up ignoring it. They just never seemed to work with spells, always seeming to be an after-thought, like the grappling tables. I think they'd work best if they were treated like the other optional magic systems introduced in the second edition expansion books, something you use in a specific world, with particular magic rules, rather than trying to integrate into the stock D&D world next to the usual magic system.

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    1. Which I guess is why they worked better (or seemed to) in Dark Sun or Spelljammer where the feel was supposed to be more space fantasy.

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  5. Two thoughts:

    Use the psionics system from SWN. Or steal Traveller's. Both have a very different feel to magic.

    Use +Courtney Campbell's rewite of the 1e psionics system. It's bloody brilliant.

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    1. Thanks, will do. You just reminded me I haven't reviewed your adventure yet. Will do shortly.

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    2. No rush, it just today appeared on RPGNow, big old glitch in the system.

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  6. Also, you want to avoid enabling the super-psychic with her personal cleric and battery of healing potions ... maybe psychic damage can only be healed by resting ...

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    1. Yes, true that. I normally like to assume my players wouldn't take advantage of that kind of 'exploit' but I know what you mean.

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