In defense of psionics (was: Lugribossk)

At 12:41 1998-05-06 +0200, A Half-Drow Bard... wrote:
>Perhaps you may think that the psionics system from PO:S&P is is crappy, 
>but I think the "original" psionics system from CPHB is way too powerful. 
>How about taking that Disintegration power at level 4? It's possible in 
>the original system. I think that hurts. 

It's possible, but it will exhaust the psionicist's PSP pool totally,
there is a pretty big chance it just won't work (Wis -4, followed by a
save vs. Death) and there's a ~2% chance the psionicist kills himself
(a 20 followed by a failed save vs. Death with a +5). The psionicist
exhausts his entire power supply, with a 30-40 % chance of killing an
opponent, albeit a potentially powerful one. At the same level, a mage
can take out dozens of smaller critters (3 1st level spells, such as
Color Spray (takes out 1d6 3-HD or less critters) or Sleep (takes out
2d4 HD of 4HD or less).

>Come to that, I suspect you state the PO:S&P psi system is crappy, 
>because you think it makes the psis to weak. Then please let me horrify 

My major beefs with S&P psionics are:

* The S&P psionics serve to make pacifism the best tactic for winning a
psychic battle. Why? Most of the attack modes hurt the attacker more
than the defender (Psionic Blast costing 10 PSPs per d12 (average 6.5)
PSPs the opponent loses)!

* Maintenance costs were removed, for no reason at all. It makes a lot
of sense for some powers to be much cheaper to keep going than to start
them up. A prime example is Metamorphosis, which should cost a lot
initially (you are changing your entire body structure, after all), but
should be rather cheap to keep going (most of the work is done already).

* Psionic combat were made to work just like normal combat - I like my
psionics alien, with tangents, harbingers and constructs.

* The esoteric discipline of Metapsionics was removed, and its powers
distributed among other disciplines. Some of the powers were perhaps
better suited to some of the other disciplines, like Convergence, but
what the heck is so telepathic about Empower? What does Magnify have to
do with mastery of the body?

I'm not saying CPHB psionics are perfect. I am saying that S&P psionics
are much worse. There are some things/concepts I have stolen from S&P
psionics and made into my own:


* Power score increasing with levels. It makes sense that a skilled
psionicist is better at using his powers than a novice. Thus, I replace
the old Power Score with:
Level+MAC(according to S&P)+stat bonus (as the S&P MTHAC0 bonus for
Int, but based on the stat the power originally used). For wild
talents, divide level by 2. I have assigned MACs to the attack and
defense modes.

*Variable PSPs depending on level - though I base it off CPHB values,
not S&P.

*Variable number of tangents required to break into a mind, depending
on the combatants' relative levels. It makes sense that it's more
difficult breaking into the mind of a master than the mind of a novice.

>you by stating that in my campaign I allow Magic Resistance to best 
>psionics. Serves them psychic little bastards just right.

Well, personally I feel that psionics and magic are fundamentally
different, and should stay that way. I can see where your're coming
from on this one, however.

>Besides, what the heck is a psionicist anyways? According to the CPHB, 
>they're unrecognisable. In fact, they don't seem to have any place in 
>society at all as well. Now that's weird. "Gee, what do we have here? A 
>fighter, a paladin, a ranger, a wizard, a priest, a thief, and a bard. 
>Oh, and some non-descript, unrecognisable, not-readily-identifiable git 
>who really doesn't do anything at all when he's not adventuring. Well, I
>guess he must be a psionicist." May I remind you of the fact that the CPHB

You see a dashing young man, dressed in finery, and with a rapier by
his side. Is he a fighter, thief or a mage swashbuckler (the latter
from the Savage Coast setting)?

You see a man wearing a suit of full plate armor. In his right hand, he
holds a long sword, and in his left he has a shield with the holy
symbol of Tyr. Is he a normal fighter who just happens to worship Tyr,
a Paladin of Tyr, or a Priest of Tyr?

Woman in dark, baggy clothing, with a dagger in her belt, and a sling
in hand.  Thief, mage or psionicist?

There are no easy ways of recognizing *any* class. In one of the basic
SJ books, it says something like "It is common to issue a standing
order to the shipboard archers to always fire at the opponent who looks
like a mage. Of course, this means that the guy who looks like a mage
rarely is a mage." Sure, the guy in heavy armor and wielding a
twohanded sword is *probably* a fighter, and the guy in Studded Leather
with a long sword and a short sword has a pretty good chance of being a
ranger, but neither one is a given. If you add in S&P class creation
and multiclass characters, it becomes even harder.

>IMO, the psionicist class has absolutely no
>place in a fantasy setting. The CPHB completely fails to give any way
to fit
>the psionicist into a fantasy society.

I agree that they don't fit into all settings with ease. I would be
wary before allowing a psionicist in FR, for instance. However, other
worlds accomodate them with ease, especially the more esoteric ones
(Spelljammer, Planescape and Dark Sun). If you're making a world of
your own and want to fit psionicists into it, you can do that with
minimal effort.


-- 
	Staffan Johansson (d96sj@???.???.se)
Power corrupts, but we need the electricity.