On Psionics

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Arkon
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On Psionics

Post by Arkon »

Fuzz wrote:So Psionics is in. It has Telepathy. (No, not talking to each other mentally or reading people's minds) Unlike other powers/feats/spells, EVERY power in this school of thought basically has some sort of RP repercussion. Think of it like Charm Person, but an entire spell school associated to it. Not all of them are obvious with their effects, based on their name, and non-Psions don't normally have access to their descriptions. So, simple solution is a little rundown of every power, and what, exactly, it would MOST LIKELY do to your head, if it were successfully used on your PC.

An important thing to remember (this is as per Dark Sun rules) is that a target WILL remember what happened while under the effects of Telepathy, unless you specifically took measures to prevent them from remembering. (i.e. making them forget) They won't necessarily know WHY they acted as they did, and may even try to rationalize it as some subconscious desire they did, in fact have, simply to avoid the reality of their mind being overwhelmed. Another Psion, should he/she be on the losing end of Psychic combat, would quite clearly know why they behaved as they did, and probably wouldn't be too happy, but that depends on the circumstances, of course.

The last thing to remember is that the mind is like a computer in Avlis/CoPaP. It has an Input/Output port. Thing is, Psionic Telepathy ONLY affects the Input port. So you can feel free to put things into someone's head, or reach in there and muck about. But you CANNOT go in there, and come back out with something. It's a One Way street, and therefore there is no knowledge or information being removed from someone's mind. You CAN make them more susceptible to suggestion, and make them more likely to spill said information, but you cannot in any way really forcibly extract information. This is a simple security measure to prevent metagaming abuse.

Also note this is primarily for NON-Psions, so they can see what exactly is happening to them when a Psion is messing with them.

On to the powers, we'll do it alphabetically:

Attraction -
Power Description: This power creates an overwhelming attraction to the psionicist in his target. A victim of this power will regard the psionicist as a trusted friend and ally.

RP Effect: Basically similar to Charm Person. No matter your opinions of the person, should you fail the save for it, you're liking them. They make a suggestion, you don't necessarily have to do it, but you'd be way more inclined to, and most certainly would not fight them tooth and nail. You'd almost definately take what they said to heart. This is one of those powers where people often rationalize their actions after the fact, and probably would have a bit of confusion after the fact, if they were made to like and listen to someone they normally despised.

Aversion -
Power Description: The victim of this power is overcome by an aversion to the psionicist. He will do everything he can to avoid him.

RP Effect: Similar to Fear. The target does not necessarily fear you, they just have an inexplicable urge to be somewhere where you are not. If asked, they probably won't give you a real reason for why they are trying to avoid the Psion, but they will know quite clearly that they want to be somewhere else. After the fact, they probably still won't have a good reason for why, and may, in fact, go so far as to concoct some sort of rationalization for why they left in such a hurry.

Contact -
Power Description: Contact is just what the name implies, contact between the minds of the psionicist and another creature. It does not allow communication, it merely represents the opening of the target?s mind. For the duration of the power, all of the target?s will saves are reduced by one for every two levels of the psionicist. Only psionicists receive a saving throw.

RP Effects: Depends on whether you're a Psion or not. A Psion would obviously require 3 tangents prior to a Contact, so they would definately know what was going down. Would they be happy about it? Probably not. Again, depends on circumstance. (This can be assumed for basically every power when used on another Psion) Non-Psions wouldn't notice anything. They might feel the hairs on the back of their neck (if they have any) perk up, or feel as if they are being watched, but they would have NO idea who or what was causing the sensation. They could be well versed in what Psions can do and are capable of. They still wouldn't know. They could have a suspicion, like "Maybe a Psion is messing with my head," but they wouldn't really have any sort of concrete knowledge of why they were feeling the uneasiness.

Daydream -
Power Description: By using this power, the psionicist causes someone?s mind to wander. Once affected, the daydreamer pays little attention to his surroundings, and may act unpredictably.

RP Effects: Pretty self-explanatory from the description. What you're dreaming about is not up to the Psion, they're just the spark that sets your mind off like a powderkeg. Maybe your PC remembers his/her lost love. Maybe they relive a battle. Who knows, it's pretty much up to the target, unless a DM says otherwise. The Psion can NOT dictate what it is you're daydreaming about, but they CAN force you to start doing it, should you fail the save. The visual effect on this power IS IC.

Domination -
Power Description: With domination, a psionicist can project signals from his own mind into the mind of one other creature. As a result, the subject is forced to do nearly anything the psionicist wishes.

RP Effects: Like Dominate Monster, but with anything. Anything that fails the save, that is. The victim will do whatever the psion tells them to do. Bear in mind this is one of those powers where, after the fact, they will NOT jsut rationalize away what they did. After the fact, the target will be quite aware of the fact that the Psion was forcibly commanding them in some way. How this affects your character is up to you. Get angry, be afraid, whatever you want. Also note the Psion CANNOT conveniently command you to forget what happened right before the effect wears off. There is a seperate power specifically for that.

Ego Whip
Power Description: This power assaults the victim?s ego, leaving him with feelings of inferiority and worthlessness. For the duration, he suffers a five point penalty to all skill checks, saving throws, and attack rolls.

RP Effects: This is a pretty interesting pwoer to RP the effects of. (personal opinion) The victim would feel very disheartened... a sudden wave of lack of confidence would wash over them. They may suddenly feel weak, ineffective, cowardly, etc. or all of these things at once. The physical effects are done for you by the engine... negative modifiers to attack rating, saves, etc. The mental effect is up to the player. Perhaps, if used in combat, the target suffers from a sudden inexplicable bout of fear, and their hand wavers on their sword and their resolve is broken. The obvious visual effect pretty readily identifies this power's use to the victim. That's not to say they know WHAT it did, only that SOMETHING was done to them, and pretty much anyone would be able to make the connection between their sudden lack of confidence and the effect... assuming they still trust their own instincts enough to believe them. After the fact, they might reforge their resolve and feel guilty about letting their emotions get to them. Conversely, the experience might jade them, they were so terrified by their lack of control.

ESP -
Power Description*: The psionicist gains a 10 point bonus to his persuade, bluff, and intimidate skills for the duration. *Note: This ability is not for use as a way to read someone's mind. Such will not be allowed.

RP Effects: This is actually a personal effect, akin to a buff, and in no way is a targetted Telepathic power. It is mentioned here in this list specifically so that the definition is reinforced. You CANNOT read minds with this power. It's called ESP because you make yourself so alluring/persuasive/whatever that you could theoretically goad someone into spilling whatever information you needed. You CANNOT forcibly take said information from their mind.

Hallucinations -
Power Description: This power allows the psionicist to project visions or images into the victim?s mind. The psionicist attacks the victim with hallucinatory monsters, forcing him to make a will save or die. Even those that save suffer 3d6 points of damage.

RP Effects: Obviously, if you fail the save, you won't be around to RP its effects. However, on your return to life, you might have terrifying memories of those last fleeting moments before you had the heart attack that killed you, wherein you were being assaulted by demons or whatever... up to you to RP it. You might come back from death a bit more jaded in the head than you normally would from the whole deathplane business. For those that save, you still get damaged. The effect would essentially be a barrage of hallucinations for a few fleeting moments. The damage itself is meant to be indicative of you somehow either hurting yourself, or psychosomatic damage as a result of hallucinatory injuries. RP it however you want. Maybe some giant frogs appear and stab you with a spear. Note once again that the Psion cannot actually control what you see. The hallucinations themselves would most likely be something your character is terrified of. The Psion CAN slightly influence what you see, should they have a long-standing knowledge of what scares you... maybe they know about your true lvoe, and decide to assault you with an image of him/her dying a torturous death. Again, the Psion can only provide the spark, the victim's mind is what does most of the work when it comes to the content of the hallucination. The flying ghostly apparition could be considered by the target, after the fact, to be part of hte hallucinatory experience. However, any bystanders that witnessed the situation would have seen the power used quite plainly.

Id Insinuation -
Power Description: With this power, the psionicist seeks to unleash the uncontrolled subconscious of the defender, pitting it against his superego. The attack leaves the victim in a state of moral uproar, unable to perform any action.

RP Effects: This power does a good job of explaining the effects in the description. Think of the Psion as Poseidon in Clash of the Titans. Poseidon just opens up that floodgate, and the Kracken is unleashed and just does his own thing. Similarly, the Psion just opens the door to the target's subconscious, and their id jumps out and does whatever it wants to do. The Psion has no control or idea of what this id will do. The id is specific to each PC. Maybe your character's deepest desires involve killing those he secretly hates. Maybe they involve the physical lust of another PC. This id is ENTIRELY defined by the target PC. They're the ones that know their character best, and thus would know what their deepest, darkest desires are. For all the Psion knows, their id could involve the PC throttling the Psion character with their bare hands, so it's a distinctively unwieldy power. The Freudian reference also hints at the utility of this power when used in conjunction to Ego Whip, since your Ego is what keeps that id in check, normally. You figure that one out, this isn't a Psych lecture.
This power DOES have a visual effect.

Inflict Pain -
Power Description: This particularly nasty form of torture causes no actual harm to the subject, but causes excruciating pain. The victim finds it hard to concentrate, suffering a ?4 penalty to attack and damage rolls as well as ?4 to AC.

RP Effects: Again, the description summarizes well. Maybe it's a horrible ringing emanating from somewhere within the target's head. Maybe it feels as if their head is in a vice. Conversely, they could feel as if their skin is on fire, or they are excruciatingly cold. This is one of the powers the Psion DOES have a direct say in what type of pain is manifested in the target's mind. Ingame, a simple OOC tell explaining what the PC would feel is sufficient. So something like "I am projecting the feeling of an intense fire all over your body" is fine. Note the use of the phrase "I am projecting..." Avlis/CoPaP rules state quite clearly that no PC can tell another PC what to RP. The OOC tell is, in efffect, a SUGGESTION of what they should RP. It's entirely up to the target's discretion what type of pain they should RP. If the Psion says nothing, then feel free to RP the pain however you want.
This power DOES have a visual effect.

Intellect Fortress -
Power Description: Intellect fortress calls forth the powers of the ego and superego to stop attacks on the mind. Unlike most telepathic defenses, it has a radius beyond the psionicist?s mind, offering protection to all friendly minds within that radius. All effected creatures gain a +1 to their saving throws versus mind spells for every two levels of the psionicist.

RP Effect: This is another buff. The only reason it bears mention is that it affects those around you as well. (everyone in your party within a 10' radius) For those non-Psions within the radius, you might feel a boost in confidence or surety. That's about it.

Mass Domination -
Power Desciption: This power is exactly like domination except the psionicist can control up to three creatures simultaneously.

RP Effect: Description did the work for me. See Domination.

Mind Blast -
Power Description: This power resembles the mind flayer?s ability to stun opponents. With it, a psionicist projects a wave of synaptic static in a cone in front of him which temporarily paralyzes all those within.

RP Effects: It's just an AoE stun wave. Just like any other stun. The visual effect is quite noticeable, as the air gets distorted by the wave.

Mind Thrust -
Power Description: Mind thrust is a mental stabbing attack which seeks to short the synapses of the victim. If it is successful, the target is unable to cast any spells until his mind recovers.

RP Effect: This power is obviously only useful against casters. The caster that fails the save would feel a sudden confusion sweep over them. In effect, the Psion muddles your mind so you can't remember the somatic/verbal/whatever component to whatever spells you were trying to cast. You might be sitting there, scratching your head and wondering what it was, exactly, you were supposed to say... it's right on the tip of your tongue, but you're having a mental block.
This power DOES have a visual effect.

Mind Wipe -
Power Description: Mind wiping is a crude form of psychic surgery that affects the subject?s IQ. Like a temporary lobotomy, the psionicist seals off portions of the subject?s mind. This has the effect of reducing the target?s intelligence and wisdom scores by 2 as well as lowering their level by 2.

RP Effect: This is the power a Psion can use to erase memories. Note that they can only remove recent memories, and the wiping is not assumed. For example, a Psion might Mind Wipe someone, then use Domination successfully. At THIS point, they can command someone to forget everything that happens for the next few minutes/happened in the last few minutes. Conversely, it could be seen to wipe all recent thoughts out of a person's head, so they are suddenly left dumbfounded and stupified as to where they are and what they were doing at that particular moment. This is a power where you would NOT remember what happened during the duration, regardless of whether the Psion says so, and thus after it wears of you would regain your presence of mind and be completely unaware of any confusion you had had in the last few moments. Consequently, you would ALSO completely forget what you saw when the Psion used the power, but that doesn't mean others didn't see it.
This is one of those powers taht can be easily abused, and really should be relegated to only being used under DM supervision.

Psionic Blast -
Power Description: Psionic Blast is a wave of brain force which can jolt a subject?s mind like shocking news. If the target fails to make his saving throw he loses 20% of his current hit points, in his mind. His mind is so impaired, in fact, that he is effectively slowed for the duration.

RP Effect: The description sumamrizes nicely. It's just a jarring wave of mental force that smacks your brain like a hammer. Bewilderment, confusion, fear, and temporary memory loss are all POSSIBLE side effects... the manifestation of which is up to the targets, not the Psion. Anyone can see the ball of force flying through the air. Whether or not bystanders comprehend the effects of the power is up to the target to RP... if you don't RP anything, they might just assume it was some sort of direct damage evocation spell, assuming the Psion put on a show and talked about Fortano's mom.

Psychic Crush -
Power Description: Psychic crush is a massive assault upon all neurons of the victim?s brain. If he fails his saving throw, he finds it nearly impossible to focus on a task; suffering a 65% failure chance on all attacks and spell casting attempts.

RP Effect: Psychic Crush is pretty noticeable. Effects are pretty much as per the description - you have trouble focusing on anything you're doing for the duration, and might find yourself reacting sluggishly or feeling a bit numb like you had been the victim of a powerful electrical shock.
This power DOES have a visual effect.

Sensory Suppression -
Power Description: This power allows the psionicist to temporarily blind and deafen an opponent by interfering with the brain?s reception of sensory information.

RP Effect: As per the power. Pretty self-explanatory.

Suppress Fear -
Power Description: A psionicist can use this power to inhibit the sensation of fear in his target. This has the effecting of removing all fear effects currently affecting the target, as well as rendering them immune to such effects for the duration.

RP Effect: Again, self-explanatory.


So that about sums them all up. You will notice that pretty much all of them are along the lines of the Psion NOT telling the target how to RP. Remember that. It's a KEY part of Psionics. It's entirely up to the target to RP the effects. It might be a good idea to put this list up in a public place, so everyone has access to it and can read it, thus they will know what Psionics can and cannot do, and thus react accordingly. If they don't feel it necessary to RP or acknowledge your Psionic attacks/powers, don't force the issue. Report them, if you must, or just avoid them in the future, since they obviously have no interest in actually RPing, so you shouldn't bother.

Also keep in mind that this is NOT an "Official" ruleset on Psionics. This is a suggestion, from me, as per the Dark Sun rulebook which this Psionics hak is based off of. A Team member can chip in and officiate it, if they agree on its concept, and it's up to them if they want to make it publically accessible as a generalized ruleset for non-Psion PCs to use, so that Psionic Telepathy is NOT abused.

That's enough from me. Enjoy!
Respect is Earned! Fear is Demanded!
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