An adaptation by Arthur Collins


 
 

The Deryni	-	Heroes & Villains of the Deryni	-	The Healers
Dragon	Monsters	-	Psionics	Dragon 78

    T h e   D e r y n i   a n d   t h e   m i l i e u   t h e y   l i v e   i n
are the creation of Katherine Kurtz, whose
c h r o n i c l e s   t e l l   t h e   s t o r y   o f   t h e   u p s   a n d
downs of the Deryni race, and the struggles to bridge the gap between the gifted
Deryni and the ordinary humans who
o u t n u m b e r   t h e m .   S o m e   o f   t h e   D e r y n i
established a tyranny of the gifted over
the non-gifted, and were eventually overthrown by other Deryni led by Camber
MacRorie, who discovered how to endow
some humans with Deryni powers.

    After the power of the Deryni was put
into non-gifted hands in this way, the
public reaction was vengeful. The Deryni
were hunted down by greedy lords and a
paranoid religious establishment. During
some 200 years of living as fugitives, the
Deryni grew wary as their numbers
dwindled. As the story continues, the
Deryni are again becoming openly
involved in public affairs. Deryni and
non-Deryni are to be found on both sides,
and the ultimate conflict is not between
classes or races, but between the followers of
good and followers of evil.

    Adapted for use in the AD&D game,
the Deryni come out like this:

DERYNI

FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: Variable (see below)
ARMOR CLASS: Variable
MOVE: 12"
HIT DICE: See below
% IN LAIR: 25%
TREASURE TYPE: Individuals K, leaders M
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Psionics
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Psionics
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Very to Genius
ALIGNMENT: Variable (see below)
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: See below
    Attack/Defense Modes: See below
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II and up / variable

The Deryni to all outward appearances
are humans. Either living with other
(ordinary) humans or in their own communities, Deryni will be found throughout the usual wide range of character
types of the AD&D universe: merchants,
tradesmen, sedentary folks, nobles, pilgrims, fighters, clerics, thieves, sages,
smiths, innkeepers, and so on. Therefore,
it is impossible to describe a ?typical?
encounter. The hit dice of Deryni range
from 1-6 hit points (for a non-classed
male) up to 9d10 (for a fighter Lord), the
same as for humans. The one characteristic that sets Deryni apart from humans is
their hereditary psionic ability. Deryni
must often take great pains to conceal
their psionic powers (and thus their true
nature), particularly if they are living
among ordinary humans.

Deryni who do not belong to a character class have psionic powers and function as parti-classed (0-level) psionicists.
They will have 30-100 ((d8 + 2) × 10)
points of psionic ability, 1-2 defense
modes, 0-1 attack modes, and 1-2 minor
disciplines. They cannot advance in level
or in psionic ability.
Deryni who belong to a character class
may opt to be psionicists ? and note that
Deryni psionicists  can  wear armor, unlike
other members of that class, with no
hampering of their psionic ability. Most
Deryni will be multi-classed, advancing
simultaneously in the psionicist class as
well as the other class of their choice.
However, few Deryni choose to become
M-U/psionicists or illusionist/psionicists, since Deryni tend to use psionics
instead  of magic spells. It is also a peculiarity that clerics among the Deryni do
not acquire curative spells. Healing, to
the Deryni, is the province of the healer
sub-class (detailed below).

All Deryni are born with Talent and
must develop it. They cannot be psionic
characters (as per the Players Handbook),
since that represents a radically different
approach to the acquisition and development of psionic ability. Deryni use
their powers in many ways. Some of the
means and methods commonly portrayed
by Ms. Kurtz are worked out in AD&D
game terms as follows:

1. The Deryni can use  mind scan,
detect lie,  and  mind probe  powers on
other minds, even other Deryni. They use
rapport  with each other, both for silent
communication and also as a sign of a
close personal relationship. The  mind
scan  ability enables a Deryni to examine
another person?s mind and determine
whether that person is Deryni or not.

2. All Deryni have natural mental
shields (much like a  thought shield,  but
costing no points to maintain), and it is
hard to catch them off their guard. They
use  wards*  on rooms for secrecy?s sake,
and some individuals possess a  wards
major matrix*.

3. The Deryni can heighten their natural senses to probe locks, sense persons
behind doors, and so on. Several of the
psionic disciplines in the AD&D rules
approximate these powers.

4. To enhance and nurture their pow-
ers, the Deryni are much given to medita-
tion, and much of their work is done in a
state of semi-trance takes a lot of concentration
centration to use their powers, and they
don?t generally use them while their
bodies are involved in things like fighting
for their lives. The religious among them
(there are as many religious Deryni as
religious humans) use their meditation
techniques to enhahce their prayer life.
There are also several religious orders
that are predominantly Deryni in compo-
sition, and members of these orders use
their powers in the worship rites.
5. Memory reading is shown and described in Ms. Kurtz?s  Camber  series, as

w e l l   a s   t h e   p r o c e d u r e   f o r   a c q u i s i t i o n   o f
a n o t h e r ? s   m e m o r i e s ;   t h a t   t o p i c   f o r m s   t h e
crux of the series.

6 .   O n   f o r m a l   o c c a s i o n s ,   D e r y n i   w i l l
a d o r n   t h e m s e l v e s   w i t h   a   n i m b u s   o f   l i g h t .
T h e y   u s e   t h e   handfire*  effect of the  lights
discipline as a simple trick to have light
to read by.

7. The Deryni have a formal challenge
ritual called the Duel Arcane, in which
combatants make a  ward  about themselves, sometimes with the aid of impartial monitors. The  ward  keeps any forces
from reaching in to affect the combat,
and keeps the powers being used within it
from breaking out to endanger others in
the area, while the Deryni within the
combat area use their powers to fight it
out. A  ward  evoked for a Duel Arcane is
unbreakable until all the combatants of
one side or the other are dead.

8. On two occasions in the  Camber  series, a little-used power is employed in
combat. In one instance, as Alister Cullen
is near death in a fight with the evil
Ariella, he pours the last of his mental
power into his sword and launches it at
her. On the other occasion, Jebediah of
Alcara does much the same thing, but
retains his hold on his sword while the
weapon is made to act as a conduit for a
final bolt of power.

Translating this specific ability into
terms for the AD&D game is probably not
possible; it is mentioned to further point

out that, in many of the powers postulated in Ms. Kurtz?s books, the mental
and the physical are bound up very close
together. One of the most important
manifestations of this is in the fact that
Deryni can die by overextending themselves mentally at a time of great danger;
many have been known to sacrifice themselves in this way so that others might
survive. The operation of some of their
powers requires such a deep trance that
assistants are needed to monitor respiration and heartbeat, so that the one performing the power does not ?forget? to
keep these functions going on. Certainly,
any DM who uses psionics in a campaign
should not let characters just blast away
with their mental powers and never be
the worse for wear. Unlike the energy of
spells, which is power from outside the
Prime Material Plane channeled  through
the mind, psionic powers are derived
from  the mind, and no one can toss
around that sort of power without even
breathing hard.

Deryni society is a rich, thoroughly
medieval world where ?magic? (psionics)
is taken for granted. Schools and religious orders that teach Deryni techniques
are common. Like all societies of the
type, it can be a violent one, and it is as
class-conscious as any.

Deryni can and will adapt to any social
system they are living in or on the fringe
of. When Deryni are intermingled in a
human society, a relatively high percentage of them will be members of character
classes, with correspondingly higher positions in the social structure. In a community composed almost entirely of
Deryni, a much lower percentage of the
total number of Deryni will be ?classed.?
This is because Deryni living in a community of humans have innate advantages that will enable them to more easily
rise to the upper levels of society, even if
they do not use their powers unscrupulously. On the other hand, a community
made up mostly of Deryni will include
more members of that race working at
non-classed occupations, because all the
niches of the economic and social structure still need to be filled.

The healers
Cutting across class distinctions are the
healers, proclaiming their status to the
world by their green robes. The healers
are a sub-class of psionicist, comprised of
a special group of Deryni who combine
the practice of ?normal? medicine and
surgery with the exercise of psionic healing/curing, upon which they have a  de
facto  monopoly. Healing is a Talent that
only a few Deryni have; not every Deryni
can choose to have  cell adjustment  (for
instance) as a discipline, just because it is
on the list of those available.
Secular healers are members of the
psionicist class, while religious healers
are multi-classed with the cleric profession. Healers differ from other psionicists
in only these particulars:

They can analyze any potion, either by
taste or by mental power (using 1
strength point), and are thereby able to
determine if the potion is harmful and (if
not) whether it has to do with healing.
When their experience level as a psionicist permits, and as soon as possible, they
will possess the disciplines of cell
adjustment  and  mental surgery.  Those
who can obtain the use of grand arts will
opt for  preservation*  and  restoration
ahead of others.

They can function as alchemists (of
equivalent level, if such is applicable) in
the preparation of curative potions,
ointments, and the like.
When they reach name level (11th),
they automatically gain the knowledge of
a sage with medicine as his field of
specialty.

They receive a +2 on all saving throws
vs. poison.

Their alignment is restricted (unlike
other Deryni) so that healers cannot be
evil. Most will be good, but a few will be
neutral with respect to good and evil.
Note that only Deryni can be healers;
the sub-class is not open to non-Deryni
psionicists. Very few (5%) ?classed?
Deryni have the potential to be healers.
Those who aspire to the class generally
attend special schools or join a religious
order that specializes in the healing arts
in order to learn their skills.