Pain-free Psionics

[TerribleSorcery]

Can it be done??

I have played psionicists since the days of 2nd edition. We played a lot of Dark Sun, where psionics have a starring role, so there was always someone in the group running one (I had a gladiator with 22 strength, which was more fun honestly).

Coming back to the 2nd ed psionics rules a few years ago to join in a friend's campaign was a rude awakening. I mean I always knew they were underpowered, but holy hell do they suck!! The most effective power my character used was dimensional door, which I hammered on constantly - becoming a teleport-bot more or less. Plenty of the abilities relied on "mother, may I?" DM adjudication that I found deeply annoying. Rolling against your stats just to use your abilities is absolute balls. Needing 2 or 3 really good stats for your character to be viable is... not what Gary would have wanted. Our psionicist player in Dark Sun was only effective because he cheated constantly, as I recall.

Anyway.

I am planning to include psionics in my B/X game, at least wild talents for enemies & NPCs at first. Possibly adding a PC class later if it becomes a big element. I have a few supplements with little two-page sections glued in as an afterthought (like Carcosa, or Realms of Crawling Chaos). Is there a set of comprehensive psionics rules that don't suck out there somewhere? Will I have to start from scratch and write them myself? (don't make me do it guys) What does everyone use in their own games, if anything? I'll adapt something from another edition, I don't care. Just don't make me open up that old 2nd ed book again.

 

[DangerousPuhson]

My understanding is that there are two types of Psionics - The chief difference I suppose being whether or not a class character can also become psionic. One version is more or less identical to a class, being that it has a spell list (powers = spells, same thing), and a few abilities which increase alongside XP level (like a class). A character that effectively "multi-classes" as ClassX/Psionic would probably better serve using a gimped version, with an abbreviated spells list and maybe a few standard "psychic-type" abilities to choose from (like ESP or telekinesis or whatever).

If that's the case, I'd reckon you can do a quick and dirty "powers" list by plucking some choice spells at a comparably appropriate level on some other class spell list(s), and maybe re-skinning them to seem a bit more "woooOOOooo psychic" - you know, by making Magic Missile into Mind's Bolt, and Barkskin into Boneskin, or whatever.

As for existing rules - I can't make a recommendation, but there's a ton on homebrew floating around out there; majority of it is trash tough, and requires solid assessment skills.

 

[Beoric]

There are psionic rules in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement to OD&D, which is probably B/X compatible if you don't like AD&D. There is a discussion of them in Dragon #6 and #23, and houserules/alternate rules in Dragon 24.

Dragon #78 is more or less devoted to psionics, and that would have been mostly for AD&D 1e, including a psionicist class and a pitch for overhauling the system.

I never ready the Eldritch Wizardry supplement (or most of the OD&D books for that matter). I probably ready the Dragon articles, but I don't remember what was in them.

 

[The1True]

The 3.5e Psionics are pretty balanced ("Expanded Psionics Handbook" -Bruce R Cordell!!!). The psionicist basically becomes another kind of caster and thus is fairly comparable to a caster of similar level. They use a simple to understand power pool to spend points using their powers which come in levels just like spells. Most of the powers are reskinned versions of existing spells so there's not a lot of reinventing the wheel.
Most of those mechanics could probably be easily reverse-ported. The classes other than the base Psion would be a little more difficult to port and the skills and feats maaaybe to a 2e game but definitely not older versions...
I recently played a psionicist/sorceror/shadowmage in a 3.5e Darksun campaign and it was blissfully free of mid-combat rules hunts and/or DM arbitration.

 

[squeen]

When I played, we did the 1e "chance to have psionic ability", however my DM altered them in a diabolical/wacky way. I wish I could remember all the details, but having psionics was deemed by players as a "curse". If you rolled them, you prayed for a short existence.

He also insisted on called them "p'sonics".

Not helpful. I know. But it made me smile to recall it. Thanks for that.

I don't use them for PCs, and monsters that have them just get "spell-like" abilities. You know that the inclusion of them for PCs was an antidote to how powerful the Mind Flayer (great name!) ended up being---read that somewhere. Psychic powers were all the rage in 70's cinema and pop-culture too (e.g. Yuri Geller, proto-New Age movement/hippie adoption of Eastern mysticism, the movie Scanners, Return to Witch Mountain, etc.). We were constantly hearing in SciFi and in the media how it's an established fact that only 10% of the brain was being used (ended up "popular science" was just 90% wrong). Honestly, I sometimes wonder if doctors choose medicine because they are bad at math...or what?

Turning a psionist into another caster class seems pointless/boring/redundant. The difference was suppose to be these quasi-mental duels where the psionic-minds attacked/parried with a point-system instead of Vancian memorization --- so it was actually different from the rest of the game mechanics. IIRC most the psionics except mind blast were also useless against a non-psionic mind. (So again, it's mainly just an antidote to Mind Flayers and other monsters with psionic abilities.) I would support a Psionist-class that is utterly useless in 99% of all encounters---maybe they can help hold the torches.

But you knew all that. Verily, 'twas a silly time!

 

[The1True]

Turning a psionist into another caster class seems pointless/boring/redundant.

Yeah well obviously I glossed over the neato special abilities and psion specializations that cover exactly what you're talking about there, Squeen. I'm just saying that in my opinion, they went the right direction with this book by standardizing the psionics system with the rest of the d20 machinery instead of trying to invent a whole new headache of a sub-game which seems to be what Sorcery (Terrible? TS?) is complaining about. Anyway, let us not edition-war further in this thread. EPH presents an elegant and easily integrated system; worth a look-over if you can find it for ahem free somewhere imho.

 

[TerribleSorcery]

they went the right direction with this book by standardizing the psionics system with the rest of the d20 machinery instead of trying to invent a whole new headache of a sub-game... EPH presents an elegant and easily integrated system; worth a look-over

Right on man, I will check it out!

Squeen: I found my 2nd edition psionicists middling-to-useless in 75% of combat encounters. And since I never specialized in telepathy, my characters weren't any better at countering psionic foes than anyone else! Phew, those were the days.

 

[Pseudoephedrine]

I don't have a comprehensive system because I got bored while coming up with abilities, but I use a psionics system based on one of the old versions of grappling rules, where each side rolls their HD. I never finished writing it but, the core mechanics and class are in place, it's just all the psionic powers beyond attack and defense modes that I ran out of steam working on. The forum won't let me upload it as an editable Word doc, so here's a pdf of the incomplete system. Feel free to raid it for ideas if it's helpful.

 

[TerribleSorcery]

Hmm! Looks good and simple. Kinda reminds me of the GLOG magic system in a way!

 

[Pseudoephedrine]

Hmm! Looks good and simple. Kinda reminds me of the GLOG magic system in a way!

Thanks! When I was playtesting it back in 2014-2015, people had fun with it.

 

[Osrnoob]

I like d6 Psionics ala Carcosa.

The D30 guy did a psionics book that is good but too much for me.

Index card or bust imo

Gavin Norman has it on his list so could ask him