Psionics is a very misunderstood part of
the AD&D
game system. The rules in
the Players Handbook have some
glaring
inconsistencies, and some confounding
p r o b l e m s a r e
l e f t h a n g i n g . I h a d
h o p e d
that all would be solved when the Dungeon
Masters Guide appeared, but some
d i f f i c u l t i e s r
e m a i n . S o , h e r e i s
a n a t t e m p t
at a basic introduction to what the AD&D
psionics system is and how it operates.
If
we find more snakes than we can kill,
w e ? l l j u s t
f i g h t o u r w a y o u t
a n d g o h o m e .
T h i s a r t i c l e
i s d i v i d e d i n t o t w o
p a r t s .
F i r s t i s a
s e t o f s p e c u l a t i o n s o
n t h e t h e o r y
o f p s i o n i c
p o w e r . G i v e n t h e f a c t
s a s p r e sented in the rules, how can we account
for them in terms of the game system in
order to cover questions that arise later?
T h e s e c o n d
p a r t o f t h e a r t i c l e
c o n c e r n s
p s i o n i c o p e r a t
i o n s a s a p r a c t i c a l
m a t t e r ,
and gets down to answering questions
and dealing with some of the hows and
the how-abouts.
T h e f i r s t
p r o b l e m w i t h p s i o n i c
p o w e r
i s t h a t i
t s o r i g i n i s n o t
e x p l a i n e d , a n d
what we can infer about its nature doesn?t
f i t i n w e
l l w i t h t h e e x p l a n a t i
o n s g i v e n f o r
the source of magical spell power.
W h e r e does psionic
power come from?
It is stated and restated in the rules
that
the energy used in casting spells does
not
come from the individual; no individual
could possibly be the source of such
world-shaking power. Rather, the energy
expended in casting spells comes from
the
multiverse itself, usually from the Outer
Planes. The
casting of a spell is just a
way of unlocking an opening for that
energy to make its presence felt in our
world, and the ritual components channel
that raw energy in the direction
desired. This is the same for cleric spells
(whose power is given by the gods) and
for magic-user spells (which siphon
energy directly from the physical multiverse?s
surging energy fields).
But psionics is different. Psionic power
comes from the mind of the individual.
How, then, can we account for the duplication
of certain spell effects by psionic
power, and how to account for the worldshaking
powers of the disciplines that
psionic characters and creatures employ?
In order to stay within the bounds of
the rules as they read, we must say that
the power of psionics does indeed come
from the mind of the individual. We can
go on to speculate that the brain is very
powerful, and most individuals never use
more than a tiny fraction of the full
capacity of their brains. (That would be
true in the game system just as it is
in
reality.) This helps to explain how the
use of psionic powers depletes an individual
mentally (and ought to, physically) in a way that spell casting does not.
Casting spells is a matter of form and
concentration only; the mind is merely
a
conduit for the energies involved. But
psionic power uses mental energy, and
each psionics-user has a finite (but variable
from individual to individual)
amount of such energy. The psionics-user
must "spend" his ability points to do
his
thing, after which he must rest to build
his capacity back up. And there are limits
to psionic power, too. Such spells as
wish, alter reality, and the like
call upon
energies beyond the ability of any mortal
mind to summon up.
Duplication of effects is thus explained
this way. Psionically related spells and
psionic powers that duplicate spell effects
are all energies that affect the brain.
But
one can do the same thing in different
ways. Detecting magic by spell
uses the
energies of the multiverse to feed information
to your mind without straining
your mind itself; using psionics to do
the
same thing involves tapping the resource
of your mind to seize upon a physical
object and rip out of it what you want
to
know about it. In the same way, you can
strike a tuning fork or a piano and hear
the sound, which takes very little effort,
or you can give voice to the same pitch
yourself, which involves some strain on
your brain and your vocal cords.
However, very few individuals
can
summon up this latent power in the
brain. All people have such power within
them, but some beings' brains are structured
in such a way as to make these
energies inaccessible to their conscious
minds, and most do not have the ability
to consciously tap the power they do
have. By accident, some individuals are
able to reach into their minds and intentionally
exercise this power. These are the
psionics-users.
The Talent, then, is
present in everybody,
but for the mass of folks it does not
function very much. Most people's latent
Talent is represented by their occasional
lucky hunches, flashes of insight, and
so
on. Anything more is beyond them. A few
have the potential to exploit the power
of
their minds, but cannot unlock its full
power. These are the characters who have
the requisite ability scores in intelligence,
wisdom, and charisma for psionic powers,
but have failed to make that near
impossible die roll to make them psionic.
Many player characters have fairly high
scores in the psionics-related abilities,
enabling them to undertake professions
like magic-user
or cleric -- classes that
allow them (and require them) to employ
their minds in more powerful ways than
most people, but this still falls short
of
employing psionic energy directly.
And then there are the very few, the
very special ones, who not only have
potential Talent, but by some accident
of
their individual natures are able to tap
into the power rolling around in their
heads. In game terms, these are the lucky
few who had the high ability scores
and
made that incredibly difficult die roll.
Their Talent is accessible and capable
of
being developed.
But there is no science of mental
research in these lejendary times, so
even
the question of how far into their powers
they can go is pretty much an accident.
The Players Handbook assigns their
combat modes <attack,
defense>
and potential for acquisition of disciplines
in a random manner.
Many times, those with great powers
(high ability scores) have only a smattering
of combat modes and disciplines. On
rare occasions, further powers can be
unlocked, as when a psionic uses
probability travel to handle a sphere of annihilation
and the resulting mind wrench
opens up the possibility of a new power
use for him. But everything is random.
That?s why psionics constitutes an
appendage to the game system instead of
being the foundation of a class unto
itself. It?s just too random to be developed
in an orderly manner.
Ah, but the tantalizing prospects of
research! A companion piece to this article
outlines a variant form of psionics
which does make the Psionicist a class
unto himself. But this character would
be
even rarer than the already rare ?regular?
psionics-user. The path of the Psionicist
is a road seldom travelled. . . . But,
more
about him later.
Psionics is not entirely random. Some
strictures in the rules dictate who can
use
these powers, and some questions about
those strictures come to mind.
For instance, I have been told that
monks and druids cannot use psionics.
I
find no reference to this in the present
AD&D rules, but I have been
told that
this is a holdover from the original rules.
[Editor's note: Monks and druids were
prohibited from having psionics in
the
Original D&D® game rules (Eldritch
Wizardry, p. 2), but this stricture
does not
apply to the AD&D rules.]
And then,
there have been some changes in later
editions of the Monster Manual, which
changed the listing under psionic ability
for elves (for example) from "Nil (possible
to exist in unusual characters)" to just
"Nil." Roger Moore writes in issue #60
of
DRAGON® Magazine that the
structure
of the
elven brain precludes the use of
psionic powers. [Editor's note:
The question of whether elves have psionics or not
has proved to be a fluid one. See the
"Sage Advice" column hereafter for
more
information.]
And then we have the puzzling problem of
the immunity to psionic attack possessed by certain creatures and divine
beings. And also the saving-throw
bonuses given to certain races and classes
when attacked with a psionic
blast
(DMG, p. 78). And the class
restrictions
on the use of certain
disciplines, as listed
in the Players Handbook. And what
happens when one (or more) of a
psionics-user?s pertinent ability scores
changes? Do that character?s psionic
powers change accordingly? These are
tangled matters, indeed. Let?s try to
tackle
them one at a time.
1. Who can have psionics:
In the AD&D
game, characters of any class can have
psionic power. No doubt psionics-using
monks and druids would be rare, but then
psionic individuals are about as plentiful
as hen's teeth anyway. The matter of race
is more tangled, particularly as regards
elves. Despite
the change in the Monster
Manual text and Roger Moore's pronouncement
in the magazine, the fact
remains that some elves do
have psionic
powers. Eclavdra, the evil drow organizer
of the giant conspiracy in those superlative
modules culminating in The Vault of
the Drow, has psionic powers.
(The listing for drow in the FIEND FOLIO®
Tome says their psionic ability is
"unknown.") Nevertheless, only the most
unusual of elves would have such powers.
If one desires to make elves non-psionic
in general, that?s okay, but I would suggest
one additional decree to straighten it
out. If left up to me, I would say that
all
player characters, of whatever race,
being
unusual individuals in the first
place,
would be eligible for psionic powers,
given the requisite ability scores and
a
successful dice roll.
2. Psionic immunity:
Immunity to psionic attack does not include immunity to
the attack, or effect, of a psionic discipline.
It pertains only to the forces of one
of the psionic attack modes. The disciplines
of cell adjustment, domination,
ESP, hypnosis, and the like will
operate
against such a creature, although one
must remember that certain individuals
get bonuses to saving throws vs. mental
attack forms because of high wisdom.
Non-psionics are already immune to all
attack forms except psionic blast
because
of the structure of their minds, although
certain situations alter that stipulation.
For instance, a non-psionic spell caster
employing a psionically related magical
power leaves his mind open to a
mind
thrust attack from a brain mole.
Those
creatures or beings that are immune to
psionic attack have minds that simply
are
not open to entry in any of the five ways
that psionic combat operates. Typically,
such creatures cannot employ psionic
powers, either; their minds just don?t
run
in those channels. No doubt some psionic
powers somewhere could affect them, but
no one has yet discovered any way to
summon up the mental energy to do so.
Such creatures can, however, leave themselves
open to attack in special circumstances, as in the example of the brain
mole given above.
3 . S a
v i n g t h r o w s f o r p s i o n
i c b l a s t : This
attack mode is a disruptive one, referred
to as a shock, like that of receiving
stunning news which the mind cannot process. This explains why certain
races
(elves, dwarves,
and halflings) get
bonuses on their saving throws vs. this
attack form. The structure of their minds
is such that their brains are more physiologically
adaptable to unusual information more quickly, and they are steadier
in their thinking processes than humans.
Thus, they are less likely to be unhinged
by the blast. Magic-users
and clerics also
get bonuses in this regard, because of
their mental training. The other bonuses
and penalties listed refer to situations
where a protective device or procedure
is
being employed, where the individual is
under a state of reduced mental capacity,
and where a psionically related spell
or
device is being used which opens up one?s
mind to psionic receptivity. These require
no further explanation.
4. Discipline restrictions
for psionics-users of various classes: I have to admit
that I see little reason for these. Magic-users
cannot employ body weaponry,
when it seems made to order for them to
cover their vulnerability in combat. Clerics
cannot use expansion or reduction.
Thieves cannot use domination, object
reading, or mass domination.
Fighters are
banned from empathy and
telempathic
projection. For the life of me,
I can't tell
why. The use of a certain discipline
might be judged to be a bit out of character
for a member of some class, but the
same character is not barred from doing
other things that are similar. A magic-user
can cast shield and enchanted weapon spells; a
cleric can drink potions of
diminution and growth;
a thief certainly
deals in mind manipulation (being a con
artist) and is certainly interested in
the
personal items he filches; fighters are
more involved with raw emotions than
anyone else.
But it is the purpose of this article to
interpret the rules if they can be interpreted.
So, we?ll try this: Fighters may not
use the empathic disciplines, because
to
employ them, one must be able to master
one's own emotions completely, and thus
the fighter's training would preclude
the
dispassionate regard necessary for
employing this discipline. Magic-users
may not employ body weaponry
because
their training neglects the physical aspect
so much that their minds do not possess
the knowledge needed to guide all of the
little neurons and cells of their bodies
in
the intricate maneuvers necessary to produce
the physical alterations. Clerics can
neither expand nor reduce
because the
gods (who are often of unusual size) do
not want their loyal henchmen to get the
idea that they can use their puny powers
to rival the gods. Thieves? subtle minds
cannot reach the deepest centers of raw
domination, and they are ?blinded? by
their greed if they try to pick up elusive
psychic traces from the objects they handle.
Such are possible explanations, but I
think it would be better to drop all the
class prohibitions on disciplines. The
only completely consistent rationale for
these restrictions is to say that they
are
necessary for the sake of game balance;
the gods have so decreed it. But that
is not
an answer that satisfies the mind.
5. Ability score fluctuations:
Certain
events in a character's life can affect
his
ability scores in intelligence, wisdom,
or
charisma, positively or negatively. These
fluctuations affect psionic ability. A
change in any of these scores reflects
something happening in the character?s
brain: something damaged, something
improved. Thus, if a character?s charisma
is lowered, his psionic ability will be
lowered accordingly. And so on.
These ability scores are ways of measuring
the inner resources of the individual.
Intelligence is not merely a measure of
cognitive ability, but also a way of gauging
the ability of that person to correctly
perceive the outside world. Highly intelligent
monsters have the ability to see
invisible objects; this is a function
of
their latent Talent, bound up with their
intelligence.
Wisdom corresponds to intelligence as
inner does to outer. The wiser a person
is,
the more perceptive he is regarding what
goes on inside the mind and body. This
is
the reason for the magical attack adjustment
accorded to those with high wisdom, divine beings? immunity to certain
kinds of spells, and so on. It is a function
of their Talent, latent or operable, which
enables them to react to mind-influencing
actions and objects better than the mass
of folks.
Charisma is far more a mental phenomenon
than a physical one. It is a
measure of one's presence and effect on
others. Note the divine beings? awe/horror
power, a product of their unusually
h i g h o r l o
w c h a r i s m a . C o n s i d e r
A d o l f
H i t l e r ' s c h a r i
s m a : N o o n e c o u l d
c a l l h i m
b e a u t i f u l -- but man, did the
guy have an
effect on people. This ability to project
yourself outward to others is very much
a
part of psionic ability.
So much for speculations about the
source and development of psionic
power. It remains, then, to look at the
practical side of things.
How to play with psionics
The first thing to get straight in using
psionics is the matter of strength points
and ability points. A psionic character
has a fixed number of strength points,
depending on his ability scores and a
dice
roll. If the numbers come up 60, then
he
will have 60 attack strength points and
60
defense strength points. Put together,
he
has 120 psionic ability points. He can
use
only attack points to attack with, and
defense points to defend with. If he runs
out of one or the other, he may find himself
able to attack, but not defend, or
defend but not attack. So far, so good.
The confusion comes from the use of
psionic disciplines. The PH says,
"Note
that the employment of these powers costs psionic strength points, the
equivalent of 1 point each of attack and defense points."
Now, does that mean:
A) To detect
evil, which costs 2
strength points per
round, the character subtracts 1 from his attack strength
and 1 from his defense
strength (presumably subtracting evenly, unless one
category is used up)?
Or, does it mean:
B) ?Psionic strength
points? constitute a third category of psionic points,
each point being equal
to 1 each of
attack and defense
points, so that to
detect evil,
the character subtracts 2
points of attack strength
and 2 points
of defense strength
(or 4 points from
one if the other is
exhausted)?
And what about ability points? These
are not worth 2 strength points apiece.
A
total of 120 psionic ability points is
merely 120 psionic strength points,
divided evenly between attack strength
and defense strength. And while we?re
muddying the waters, what about halfpoints,
if they exist? What about subtracting all of the point cost from just one
category if the other is getting low?
I've heard of this being played both
ways (A and B above), and I do not know
what was originally intended when the
PH
was written. However, having played
with psionics for quite some time, and
thought about it a lot, I offer this resolution:
A strength point is a strength point
is a strength point. One?s psionic
ability
is measured in total strength points,
this
being one?s attack strength points and
one?s defense strength points added
together. Using psionic disciplines
involves the expenditure of strength
points which are equivalent to the
strength points talked about in all other
circumstances. In cases where a discipline
costs 2 strength points, 1 point comes
from attack strength and 1 point from
defense strength. One does not have the
option of taking the entire cost from
the
better-supplied category; one must subtract
the points evenly. This means:
1) One is going to have to reckon with
half-points, since a discipline that costs
1
point must come equally from attack and
defense strength (and remember, possessing
½ defense strength point means that
character gets one last defense before
the
DM shifts to the Psionic
Attack Upon Defenseless Psionic table); and
2) When one category is depleted, the
full cost comes out of the undepleted
category. A character with 0 attack
strength points and 20 defense strength
points can employ detect
good/evil, and
afterward he will have 0 attack points
and
18 defense points. Further clarification:
One must use up both categories as
evenly as possible. Dimension door
costs
10 strength points. If you have 15 attack
points and 2 defense points, you cannot
subtract 5 points from each category;
instead, you will exhaust the one category
and take the remainder from the other,
ending up with 7 attack points and 0
defense points after the discipline is
employed.
Implementing all of this means that
the psionic character is even more burdened
with record-keeping than other
characters. I recommend that the player
of a psionic character keep a running
account of the character?s psionic
strength in double lines to enable him
to
keep it all straight. Such an account
(including reasons for expenditure of
points, which is not necessary in game
play) may be kept thusly:
BALDWIN BANDERSNATCH
(140 psionic ability pts.)
| Attack points (70)
70 (capacity) |
Defense points (70)
70 (capacity) |
| -20 (psi-fry orcs)
50 (new total) |
-
- |
| -3 (etherealness)
47 (new total) |
-3 (etherealness)
47 (new total) |
| -
- |
-10 (tower of iron will entering suspected
mind flayer lair)
57 (new total) |
| -7 1/2 (cell adjust.)
39 1/2 (new total) |
-7 1/2 (heal 15 pts.)
49 1/2 (new total) |
| +12 sleep (1 hour)
51 1/2 (new total) |
+12 (+24 pts. total)
61 1/2 (new total) |
Recovering
psionic points
Another murky area
is in the recovery
of points. Can the psionic character use
his powers while building up his
strength, or must he cease from using
them at all while he is recharging his
batteries? And how does this relate to
the
defense mode thought shield, which "can
be kept up at all times, unlike the others"?
Recovery of points takes place in
one-hour periods, and the rate of recovery
depends upon the amount of physical
(and presumably mental) exertion the
character gives out during that hour.
That's pretty straightforward and easy
to
understand. Roger Moore points out in
issue #71 of DRAGON Magazine that the
recovery
goes on even while using mental
exertion
to move in the Astral Plane. And
that's okay: One is not using psionic
energy to move about, just ordinary mental
effort like everyone else there.
B u t w h a t a
b o u t t h a t thought shield?
C a n o n e e
m p l o y i t all the time, even
while sleeping, and will it interfere
with
recovery of points? Can one add the
points being recovered while at the same
time subtracting the cost
of the shield,
storing up the difference? And just how
much does that little beggar cost, anyway?
Psionic combat is done by segments,
not rounds, which would mean that
thought shield at 2 points per usage
would cost 20 points per round ? a constant
drain which even sleeping (at 24
points/round, of which only 12 points
would be recovered defense strength)
could not make up for.
H e r e , t o o ,
r e c u r s t h e o l d b u g a b o
o a b o u t
w h a t i s a
s t r e n g t h p o i n t . T h e P
H s a y s , a s
regards recovery of points, ?Note attack
and defense points are considered as ½
s t r e n g t h p o i n t
, a s i t i s q u i t e
p o s s i b l e t o
have disparate amounts of one or the
other of these points after combat.? Does
this mean that recovered points are that
elusive ?third kind of point? worth two
of the others? Does that mean that a discipline
costing 2 points/round really
costs 2 points of attack strength and
2
points of defense strength? Recovering
24
points in an hour of sleep would seem
to
mean 24 attack strength ?half-points?
and 24 defense strength ?half-points?;
in
other words, dividing the amount recovered
evenly between the two as the ?halfpoints? are recovered.
If either a character?s attack or defense
strength is restored to its original fullcapacity
level and other recovered points
are left to be assigned, they are
not applied 1-for-1 to the still-deficient category,
but are still only gained on a ?½-for-1?
basis. For example: A character with psionic
ability of 150 goes to sleep at a point
when his attack strength is 138 and his
defense strength is 102. If he sleeps
for
three hours, he has the opportunity to
recover as many as 72 psionic strength
points (if that many are usable). He can
use 24 of those points to bring his attack
strength up 12 points, back to maximum,
and raise his defense strength by 12 points
up to 114. This leaves 48 recovered points
unaccounted for, and these points must
be considered as two sets of 48 ?halfpoints.?
Since his attack strength is at its
maximum, the 48 ?half-points? that
might-have been devoted to that category
are lost. The 48 ?half-points? that can
be
applied to recovering defense strength
are
used to increase his defense point total
by
another 24, up to 138.
Defense mode costs
and fatigue
To straighten out the matter of defense
modes, these interpretations are offered.
A
defense mode?s usage cost is expressed
in
points per round when the
defense is not
being used in actual psionic combat.
That means that a thought shield
will be
effective for a whole round at a cost
of 2
points (defense points only), so long
as
the psionics-user is not attacked psionically.
When that happens, the defense is
burnt up in the attack, and we get into
the high-energy-burning process of
segment-by-segment combat. Likewise, a
tower of iron will or intellect
fortress,
which helps shield the rest of a psionics-user?s
party, will be effective for an entire
round at the stated costs, unless that
particular application of the defense mode is
burnt up by a psionic attack. Which
means that the psionics-user doesn?t have
to worry about exorbitant defense costs
just for being prepared, and his party
doesn?t have to worry about which seg-
ment he put the fortress over
them vs.
which segment that mind flayer got
ornery in. The thought shield
is the only
defense mode which the psionics-user can
employ ?until further notice.? All other
defense modes must be renewed each
round, and this intent must be so stated
t o t h e D M .
B u t t h e p s i o n i c c h a r a
c t e r
u s i n g a shield
just subtracts his 2 defense
points each round automatically as long
as he has the shield up.
However, I would say that as long as he
is employing a thought shield,
he cannot
recover any psionic power. Likewise, if
the character uses any psionic discipline
or attack/defense mode, any recovery during
that hour is foregone. This means
that the psionic character can?t be 100%
prepared at all times. And no, I wouldn?t
allow him to keep up his thought
shield
while he was sleeping, either.
Another practical matter that is sometimes
hard to adjudicate in game terms
arises from the discipline mind
over body.
While the description of this power is
quite adequate, it and spells such as
dispel exhaustion raise the whole issue of
tiredness and its effect upon performance
in the AD&D game. There is
not a comprehensive treatment of this subject in the
game literature, so DMs need to be aware
of it and treat it with care. The problem
is, why should one use these spells and
powers if there is no penalty for overexertion
and lack of sleep in the game? What
point is mind over body unless
the DM
says, ?You are now beat, and your hit
probability is -1, with damage -1 accordingly.?
To which the player will reply,
?Baloney! My character has a constitution
of diddley-ump, so he ought to be
able to go for 70-odd hours without rest!?
The DMG has some things to say
about
exhaustion
in certain circumstances, but
in general, the whole problem is dumped
in the DM's lap. Be sensitive and be firm.
And either make those player characters
use up the resources they?re holding back,
or force them to break off pursuing your
harried monsters and rest.
Levels of mastery
and combat
From here, we can on
to consider
how psionics are employed in combat.
But first, a word or three is necessary
on
the concept of "level
of mastery." The
PH states flatly, "The level of
mastery of
any discipline equals the level of experience
of the character who possesses it
unless otherwise specified."
This is official. It also makes no sense.
It means that a character with 1 major
and 3 minor disciplines would not receive
the major discipline until he reaches
the
7th level of experience, and therefore,
he
would automatically acquire that major
discipline at the 7th level of mastery,
which is pretty hard to swallow. And note
that no major disciplines are going to
be.
acquired by anybody before 5th level,
at
lowest (in a case where the character
is to
receive 2 minor and 1 major discipline).
Therefore, no major discipline should
have any level of mastery listed below
5th;
however, lots of major disciplines have
levels of mastery listed in the range
from
1-4 inclusive.
Should psionic characters merely jump
to the 5th level of mastery (or higher)
the
first time they acquire said major discipline?
This is not an illustration of
unreasonable rules: these are rules that
are blatantly contradictory. As a suggested
resolution of this problem, here is
a new way of interpreting level of mastery:
The level of mastery of any discipline for a particular character equals
the
number of experience levels the character
has attained while possessing it, starting
the count at the level where the discipline
was first acquired. Thus, the character
of
the preceding example, when he reaches
the 7th level of experience, has one minor
discipline which he exercises at 7th level
of mastery (the one he started with),
one
minor discipline which he exercises at
5th
level of master, another minor discipline
which he exercises at 3rd level of mastery,
and a newly acquired major discipline
which he exercises at 1st level of mastery.
That's the only way to get all the data
to make sense together. Multi-classed
characters might find it easier to choose
which class they will use for this criterion.
And now, on to psionic combat.
Psionic combat is really of two different
types: when a psionic is involved in
combat with non-psionics, and when psionics
are battling other psionics. When
psionic characters battle each other,
the
adversaries get into their combat trances
and grab at each other's minds, nearly
oblivious to all else, exchanging mental
swipes at each other. Their cohorts?
efforts are needed to shield them from
magical or physical attack, since they
are
going to be even more vulnerable to these
dangers than an unarmored magic-user
attempting to cast a spell.
However, most likely a psionic attacking
a bunch of psionics will be fighting
with other means than his attack modes,
or maybe mixing psionic attacks with
magical or physical attacks, and that?s
a
different kettle of fish. In addition,
one
must remember that psionic-vs.-psionic
combat is moderated in segments, whereas
normal combat is conducted in rounds.
There must be a way of meshing the two
for occasions when a psionic is employing
his powers in a melee with nonpsionic foes.
The first question, then, is: How much
can you do in a single round? Sure, it
only takes 1 segment to hurl a psionic
blast, but then do you have the
rest of the
round to take swipes with your sword?
How long does it take to perform a discipline:
1 segment, as for an attack mode?
Are psionic characters vulnerable and
helpless when using a discipline? No one
who has conducted a melee with all these
factors going at once is insensitive to
what I?m trying to get across. The key
to
understanding it all is the combat trance
that psionics get into when they fight
other psionics.
When a psionic is engaged in mental
combat with another psionic, he enters
a
s t a t e o f n
e a r - t o t a l c o n c e n t r a t i o n . W
h i l e
h e i s i n
t h i s t r a n c e , h e c a n n o
t n o r m a l l y
attack or defend himself, and is an easy
t a r g e t f o r
n o r m a l a t t a c k s . B u t i
t i s t h i s
c o n c e n t r a t i o n
t h a t e n a b l e s h i m t o
e m p l o y
his powers by the segment, rather than
by
t h e r o u n d .
H e c a n s t i l l u s e
h i s p o w e r s ,
b u t i n a
m o r e l i m i t e d f a s h i o n ,
i f h e d o e s
n o t g o i n
t o t h a t t r a n c e s t a t e
( s e e b e l o w ) .
W h i l e i n
t h e t r a n c e , h e c a n
e m p l o y a
defense mode every segment, and simult
a n e o u s l y e i t h e r t h r o w
o u t a n a t t a c k
m o d e o r e
m p l o y a d i s c i p l i n e , s
u c h a s
dimension door, to escape. The duration
of the discipline is not speeded up accordingly,
however.
When a psionic is fighting non-psionic
opponents, he does not (and cannot)
achieve this combat trance, and the use
of
his powers more closely parallels the
casting of spells by magic-users and clerics,
or the use of innate spell-like abilities
by
creatures possessing them. He can maintain
a defense mode, at the stated cost, for
a full round instead of just a segment
(just in case he is attacked psionically),
and can use an attack mode or a discipline
the same way a caster or scroll-user
employs a spell ? with this
difference:
While spells (and disciplines) come last
in a round, psionic attack modes come
first, simultaneous with missile fire.
The psionics-user cannot employ both
an attack mode and a discipline in the
same round. He also has the option of
maintaining a psionic defense mode and
attacking normally, hand-to-hand or with
missiles, etc. Taking damage will spoil
a
discipline by breaking the user?s concentration,
just as a magic-user?s spell would
be botched if he were hit, and the point
cost will be expended anyway. But, taking
damage will not disrupt attack and
defense modes; they are engaged and disengaged,
and take effect, too quickly for
normal attacks to have any effect on their
usability.
So far, so good. Now, when a psionic is
engaged with a mixed force of psionic
and non-psionic characters, he has the
option of going into a combat trance,
which will persist for the entire round,
or
of maintaining his defense mode(s) and
using either disciplines or physical
attacks, or the one allowed attack mode
per round, prior to shifting his attention
to normal combat. If the psionic character
is one who gets multiple attacks per
round, he will be able to use an attack
mode and still get in one of his physical
attacks, whether the specific target of
the
attacks is psionic or not.
Meanwhile, his psionic opponent may
very well be content to go into a combat
trance and pound the other psionic?s
defenses. In this case, the psionic character
attacking physically is still subject to
the effects of 10 psionic attacks per
round
(one per segment) from the opposing
psionics-user. It should be noted that
psionic-vs.-psionic combat is an awesomely
depleting affair. Most full
exchanges will only last a round, or
merely part of a round, before one or
the
other of the adversaries is stripped of
psionic power and defeated.
Another hairy situation is multiple
psionic operations, where two or more
characters link minds and fight under
the
direction of the lead character. This
is not
too difficult to adjudicate, although
it
presents a problem for the poor nonpsionics
in their party who are trying to
keep them from getting killed while they
do it.
In general, a psionics-user will be at
the head of a party of creatures and,
being
smarter than the average, will attempt
to
use the others as protection to cover himself.
A psionic magic-user with a guard
company of orcs, for instance, will probably
begin an encounter with a magic
device and/or an attack by his troops,
reserving his psionic attack for situations
where its use is imperative. For one thing,
he can?t direct his troops if he?s in
a
trance, and for another thing, unless
he
knows there?s a psionic character in his
opponents? party, why should he expose
himself as a psionic and risk that combat?
(Keep in mind the disadvantages of psionic
combat.) Chances are, the psionic
leader will hold his powers in reserve
unless he really needs to use them. After
all, if he depletes his powers too rapidly,
who will save him when his orcs are
trounced? As in all such situations, a
good leader doesn?t jump to the forefront
of the fray; he saves himself for the
decisive moment, if he can.
Combat combinations
The combat
system in the DMG flows
pretty well, until you get in the situation
of combining psionic combat with regular
melee. Then the segment-by-segment
system of hidden resolves, tabulation
of
results, and so on can really bog down
a
group of gamers. I recommend splitting
the psionic activity into two parts of
5
segments each, placing them at the
beginning and the end of the round and
doing them en masse then. It isn't
authentic, but it keeps the players of
non-psionic characters getting bored
while the psionic-users have it out.
Psionic characters get saving throws, of
course, against psionic disciplines flung
at them. But it?s a little different situation
when a psionic blast is hurled
at a party,
when only one or two of its members are
psionic. In that case, the non-psionic
characters make their regular saving
throws, while any psionic characters in
the party find themselves engaged in psionic
combat, and must decide whether to
respond by going into a combat trance
or
putting up defenses and reacting in some
other way.
A psionic character wearing a helm
of
telepathy, of course, does not get
a saving
throw vs. the blast, but rather
finds himself in psionic combat. What, then,
happens when a psionic wearing a
helm
of telepathy is attacked with a
blast?
What advantages does he get, and what
happens to the attacker? No one knows.
But I would say that the helm of
telepathy, when worn by a psionic character,
radiates a tower of iron will
(the effects of
which are confined to the person wearing
it) which will last until he is attacked
psionically. The helm expends
no
strength points to do this, and it saves
the
psionic wearer from having to keep up
a
defense all the time.
Once the psionic wearer is attacked
psionically, the helm?s automatic
tower
absorbs the first attack (without any
stunning of the attacker), then lapses
into
quiescence while the wearer puts up his
o w n d e f e n s e s .
T h e helm allows the psionic wearer to attack and defend
as if he
were one category higher on the combat
matrices than he really is. Thus, if his
psionic strength was 24, he would attack
as if it were 26-50, and if he has been
stripped of all psionic strength, he would
still defend on the Psionic Attack
Upon
Defenseless Psionic table as if
he had
from 10-59 strength points left. This
won?t save him forever, but it ain?t bad.
The helm, of course, also adds
40
strength points to the psionic wearer?s
total as long as he wears it. Other items,
such as certain ioun stones,
will also
grant the psionic character extra points
(different ioun stones and
such things as
a pearl of wisdom will affect
his ability
scores, and thus his psionic strength
total,
while he posesses them).
These extra points are split evenly
between attack and defense, and are
employed just as the character?s ?natural?
strength points are, with the exception
of
their mode of recovery. The extra points
bestowed on a character by a magic item
are recovered separately from the character?s
natural strength points (but at the
same time). As long as the magic item
is
not in use, it is ?resting? and will recover
5 points per hour. Using the item for
any
purpose other than merely as armor (as
with a helm of telepathy or
similar sort of
item) will negate any recovery during
that
entire hour. The same applies to the
stones. Extra points added by increasing
a
player?s ability scores, however, are
considered ?natural? strength, and are
simply added to his normal total and recovered
in the normal way, as long as the
items are in his possession.
More complex questions
Further questions on
psionic-vs-psionic
combat: When someone employs
a psionic blast
against what he assumes is
a non-psionic party, would he know that
he had also (accidentally, perhaps)
attacked a psionics-user? Would he be
able to single out which individual in
the
party is the psionic one? Would the psionic
character being attacked be able to
know which of the individuals confronting
him has hit him with the blast? In
psionic combat in general, can a psionic
know from whom certain attacks come,
and can he direct his attacks toward an
individual if he doesn't know which
individual is attacking him? This
becomes important in psionic melee,
where multiple psionic characters on
either side have elected not to link up.
Anyone could guess that it was the
mind flayer who slammed you psionically
and not the bugbears with him. And
it would be fairly obvious which is the
psionic character in an opposing party,
if
one figure hangs back from the attack
but
doesn?t seem to be casting a spell.
But then again, who says you have to
see a psionic character to engage him
in
combat? The psionic combat trance operates
from mind to mind, independent of
vision. One can engage in psionic combat
in total darkness and be aware of the
mind(s) with which one is engaged,
so
long us those minds are also still engaged.
If one of the psionic characters breaks
off
the attack and an attack is not immediately
pressed home against him, he
stands a good chance of being lost in
the
darkness or in a crowd.
Yes, an attacking psionics-user would
know he has blasted another
psionicsuser; he would feel the recoil of energy
from contacting that mind. But he would
not necessarily know immediately which
of his foes was the psionic one, in order
to direct his henchmen to attack that
character physically. Of course, he need
not know which foe is the psionics-user
in order to continue the psionic combat.
The defender will have no problem realizing
he's being attacked (and if he?s not
ready, he may be in real trouble), but
is
under the same restrictions as far as
locating his opponent by sight; the identity of
the psionics-user may not be visually
obvious, but psionic combat could be
conducted without the defender knowing
for sure whom he's battling.
In psionic melee, the opportunities for
confusion are wonderful indeed. Smarter
psionics will close their eyes, go into
their
combat trance, and launch wide-area
attacks that allow them to hit several
minds at once, so as to know what they're
up against. They will be able to distinguish
the individual mental signature of
each mind, so in a dark warren of caves,
they will be able to keep track of how
many minds they are engaging. It gets
confusing when the combat is combined
with sight. In such a case, one may direct
an attack at an individual and then find
out that person was not the one you
intended to attack, and in fact he is
not
attacking you; he?s engaging someone
else. In psionic melee, everyone attacks
and defends simultaneously, and it is
very
possible for one individual to attack
several psionics-users and be attacked psionically by several others, while
someone
gets off scot-free in the middle of the
whole affair.
If someone is killed
or controlled by
psionic power, that phenomenon is
apparent to the one doing the killing
or
controlling , Psychic wounds and the like
are not apparent to the inflictor. And
if a
psionic character breaks off an attack
and
flees in the dark, the pursuing psionic
may easily lose him, for without constant
mind contact, he is reduced to casting
about mentally with attacks to try to
locate his prey.
At this point, some
words are in order
a b o u t t h e
r o l e a n d s t r a t e g y o f
t h e p s i o n i c
c h a r a c t e r i n
a n a d v e n t u r i n g p a r t y .
T h e
p s i o n i c c h a r a c
t e r i s o f g r e a t
b e n e f i t t o t h e
r e s t o f t
h e p a r t y , e s p e c i a l l y
w i t h h i s a b i l i t i e s o f
cell adjustment, psionic blast, and
the various means of detecting and prognosticating
things. Others must use up
precious spells to do this, but the psionic
character gets his ?strength? back more
quickly than spell casters do, and can
perform the same action as many different
times in a day as he wants, subject to
the
availability of strength points.
A n d , i t s h
o u l d n o t g o w i t h o u t
s a y i n g
t h a t t h e
p a r t y i s o f g r e a t
b e n e f i t t o t h e
p s i o n i c c h a r a c
t e r a s w e l l , f o r
a t t h o s e
t i m e s w h e n
h e i s u n d e r a p s
i o n i c a t t a c k t o
which the other party members are
immune, he needs their assistance and
p r o t e c t i o n .
Making thoughtful
choices
It is generally a bad idea to go about
blowing away all and sundry with one?s
psionic powers. This advertises your
presence and wastes energy that you
might need later on (the accuracy of this
observation depends greatly upon the
number of psionic encounters and adventures
the DM works with). But, keeping
up a thought
shield while nothing much
is happening and checking out various
objects or areas with judicious application
of one?s psionic powers doesn?t take
a lot of energy and keeps most of the
rest
in reserve.
The best general defense if you don?t
know what is going to be thrown at you
might well be mental barrier.
It doesn?t
cost much and is reasonably effective
against most attacks. The best general
offense if you don't know what to hit
somebody with is probably ego whip,
for
the same reason: it doesn?t cost much
and
hits most defenses well. The list below
gives the ?best possible? relationships
between attack and defense modes:
Best attacks:
vs. mind blank ? mind thrust
or
ego whip.
vs. thought shield ? psionic
blast or
id insinuation.
vs. mental barrier, tower of
iron will,
or intellect fortress ? id insinuation.
Best defenses:
vs. psionic blast or psychic
crush ?tower of iron will.
vs. mind thrust or ego whip ?
intellect fortress.
vs. id insinuation ? mind blank.
Note, however, that short of having one
of the opposing combatants yell out,
?Here comes an ego whip,?
there?s no
way of knowing for sure what attack is
on
the way. Which all leads up to saying
that, if the DM is running his psionic
encounters right, being one of the ?lucky
few? is no bed of begonias. It can be
rough to be a psionic character, and that
ought to be made apparent to the players.
After all, you can be attacked by so many
more monsters! . . .
. . And those monsters are everywhere.
Some, like the brain mole, are ever watchful
for anyone exercising psionically
related powers in their vicinity. Some
are
adventurer types, just like the party
members, with nothing to set them apart
from ?normal? encounters until it?s too
late. And some, like the mind flayer,
have
?psi-fry menace? written all over them.
Disciplinary
matters
There remains only the necessary clarification
of how certain psionic powers
operate. First of these, and an obvious
candidate for Most Useful Psionic Discipline,
is cell adjustment.
With this
power, one can heal lost hit points, cure
diseases, and be voted best buddy of your
band of berserkers. The question here
is,
how come one can't use cell adjustment
to damage as well as heal? It would seem
sensible that if one can repair, one can
wreck. Sure, you can't create a disease,
since this discipline doesn?t give you
the
power to create life forms that cause
another to sicken. But if you can kill
disease-causing organisms, why can?t you
kill healthy cells? The answer must be
that one doesn?t kill disease
cells, but
rather the discipline amplifies the body?s
recuperative powers -- powers which
both repair damaged cells and also combat
disease. Speeded-up (practically
instantaneous) meiosis provides new cells
by normal division and production of
antibodies to fight disease. Such a gift
can
only work for health, not harm.
And then there's body weaponry,
which
lasts as long as one concentrates upon
it.
The only problem here is that one is trying
to concentrate and engage in active
melee at the same time, something which
spell casters obviously cannot do. The
answer is that this is not a spell, nor
even
an attack mode, which would normally
require one to enter a combat trance.
This
is the kind of concentration that a superb
basketball player has when running
down the court full tilt, totally aware
of
himself and the actions of nine other
people, seemingly without effort. It follows,
then, that there is no possibility of
breaking the user?s concentration short
of
a psionic blast, and even
then a good
defense mode will prevent any bad effects.
A word also needs to be said about psionic
invisibility. Unlike the spell effect of
the same nature, this is not a general
sort
of invisibility. Like the
Players
Handbook says, it is weaker in some ways and
more powerful in others. It cannot be
detected the way magical invisibility
can.
But then, it is more limited in its ability
to fool others.
Mind bar is also an incredibly useful
piece of ?equipment? to counter all
forms of magical possession dangers, as
well as foiling charms and
such. The DM
who intends to do a lot of psionics ought
to brush up on the whole subject of magical
mind attacks, including magic jars,
ghosts, trap the soul, and
so on.
P e r h a p s t h e
m o s t d i f f i c u l t d i s c i p l i n e
t o
a d j u d i c a t e i s
t h e m i n o r d i s c i p l i n e
o f p r e cognition. Unlike augury, the 2nd-level
cleric spell, precognition
gives definite
answers about the future. This is a pain,
because then the DM has to make sure
that things fit into this prearranged
pattern, which can involve a lot of fudging
on dice rolls and a lot of labor lost
after it
was spent setting up an encounter. It
is a
further pain because the DM must assign
the probability of success almost by intuition.
Players are sure to argue about it,
and it's generally a bummer.
The best thing to do is to work on
one's style of refereeing. I never admit
to
fudging on dice rolls, but I have been
known to shave points for both monsters
and party members (without saying that?s
what I?m doing) if I think that the melee
is not going well. Certain monsters
should never be too easy, and certain
stupendously bad things really ought not to
happen to the 1st-level player character
you?re trying to show a good time. If
you
can learn to manipulate the dice results
while retaining your basic fairness and
integrity, then you can learn to handle
such things as precognition,
without
seeming too obvious about it. Your players
may even grant you semi-legendary
status at your sage-like ability to foretell
how an encounter will go, if you can pull
the strings with a straight face and give
them the impression that the dice are
being honestly interpreted. And a little
respect never hurt any DM. Just don?t
let
anyone get the impression you can be
wheedled into giving somebody a break.
The same basic principle applies to
moderating the use of sensitivity
to psychic impressions. It is up to the DM to
communicate what the psionic character
senses. Mostly, this will be vague, fleeting
impressions, but the DM can use this to
advance (or retard) the accumulation of
information by the player characters.
In the matter of planar travel, certain
disciplines can be employed to admit one
to planes and places other than the Prime
Material. Dimension door and
dimension
walk enable one to slip through
the keyholes of reality to get places. The door is
stated to be in some relationship with
the
Astral Plane (at least, one can get stuck
there), but dimension walk
involves no
dangers like that, nor does it allow egress
into other planes.
Etherealness is a free ticket to
the Inner
Planes for bag and baggage. Probability
travel is an improved form of
astral projection, both of which are very handy.
Astral projection, like the
astral spell
employed by a cleric or magic-user, projects
only an astral body, leaving the
physical body at home, connected to the
projector by a silver cord.
Unlike the spell of similar effect,
astral
projection permits only the individual
possessing the power to go into the Astral
Plane. On the other hand, the psionic
character using probability travel
can get
to just about anywhere, Inner or Outer
Planes included, can take friends along,
and can transport himself physically into
other planes. Only a few items will work
so well. After all, it's nice to know
when
you're astrally projecting that your
chance of being really killed is small;
what?s an astral body among friends?
Going astral with one?s physical body
while probability travelling
is thus riskier. But the consolation is, you can take
more than just magic items with you on
your trip, so you?ll have it when you
disembark somewhere else: stuff like armor,
food, regular weapons, letters of recommendation,
and so forth.
The last word
To sum up: This article has endeavored
to provide a rationale for some of the
rules that govern psionics in the AD&D
game, along with a general theory of
what psionics is all about. We?ve also
tried to unsnarl some tangled questions
of procedures and interpretations in the
use of psionics. The last word, then,
must
belong to the role of psionics in the
game
itself.
The psionic monster is in the game to
add excitement and variety. When the
players (through their characters) risk
nothing but being worn down by melee,
they will eventually get bored. Sure,
if
you toss psionic monsters at them, the
players will complain (at least at first)
that you?re perpetrating some awful acts
against their characters. But the players
will only fully appreciate the adventure
and the larger campaign if their characters
escape with their booty by the skin of
their teeth.
The psionic non-player character is
there for adventurers to interact with.
Psionic ability adds all kinds of hidden
factors to an encounter. While some
AD&D
campaigns may be not improperly
affected by some NPC magic-user strolling
down the avenue turning people into
frogs, virtually no one in the campaign
should advertise his psionic powers. Let
your player characters find out the hard
way (if they ever do find out) that so-andso
is one of them.
And most importantly, the psionic
player character exists to give the player
a
chance to try on yet another fascinating
set of abilities, and to do battle with
unmentionable monsters. The only caution
that can be issued here is the cardinal
rule of the whole game system: Don?t
upset the game balance. If you are
going
to have psionic characters in the campaign,
increase the number (and ferocity)
of the psionic monsters they will encounter.
But don?t add psionic nightmares to
every dungeon and keep your players
explore. Let the possibility of psionics
always be in the background, lurking
around, waiting to surprise, horrify,
and
delight them.
