The use of psionic abilities in D&D adds a fascinating dimension
to the game. Characters are less confident when confronting psionic
foes, since saving throws against mind blast is not related to hit dice. The
psionic combat trance demands cooperation by the psychic’s companions,
to protect him physically while he protects them psionically. The
occasional psionic monster puts a little healthy fear into that arrogant
Lord or Wizard who has been terrorizing your poor dungeon.

Two drawbacks I have encountered in the use of psionic powers
are the scarcity of characters with psychic potential and the relatively
random assignment of powers to different character classes. Scarcity
results in very little employment of psionics in most games; no one has
the powers. It is probably necessary for game balance. Grafting psionics
onto every character would soon make them all too powerful. Scarcity
can be rationalized by the fact that, unlike magic which may be studied,
psychic ability is an inborn trait. You must be born with it.

The problem of random determination of powers is really an
aesthetic one. characters seem more “real” if their psychic abilities reflect
their professions. While it can be argued that any given psychic
talent could exist in an individual regardless of the profession he practices,
it is more likely that psychic powers would not fully manifest themselves
until puberty. In a low-technology world that would be the time of
choosing a future profession

It might be presumed that the latent psychic power subtly influences
choice of profession, and vice versa. Therefore, the manifestations
of psionic powers come to be more closely allied to player professions
than is currently provided by the rules. For this purpose, psionic
powers are divided into three basic types. There are the cognitive powers
such as ESP, the kinetic type of powers typified by Telekinesis, and
the Anti-Psi powers. These last are a type of defense. I am indebted for
the idea to Bonewit’s Authentic Thaumaturgy. The standard psionic
attack forms and defense forms are independent of the three types of
powers and are available as provided by the rules in Eldritch Wizardry,
as they function just perfectly as they are.

Analysis of the lists of powers in Eldritch Wizardry will show that the
kinetic powers are more often assigned to Fighter or Thief types while
the cognitive powers are more likely to occur in Clerics. Magicians seem
to manifest both equally, probably because they have such a wide grasp
of so many arcane forces. Because of their sensitive natures, Bards have
cognitive powers, as do Illusionists and Sages. Although Druids are barred
from psychic powers, an exception might be made by those DMs
who run mostly dungeon adventures since so many Druid spells are
useless underground.

The following lists are divided into lesser and greater manifestations
of each type, much as the rules already divide the lists of psionic
powers:

COGNITIVE POWERS

Lesser Manifestations	Greater Manifestations
Intuition*	Locate Object*
Psychometry*	Hypercognition*
Empathy	Precognition
Subsentient Telepathy	Telepathic Projection
ESP	Aura Alteration
Clairsenses*	Speak Languages*
Ectoplasm*	Telepathic Projection
Retrocognition*	Psyche Transfer*
Detect Evil	Mind Bar
Detect Magic	Mass Domination
Telepathy	Astral Projection
Invisibility	Ethereal Travel
Hypnosis	Probability Travel
Domination	-

* Explanation of Starred (*) Powers:

INTUITION: actually a low-grade of ESP. Intuition allows a 15% 
chance per level of mastery, up to 90% maximum, of obtaining a hunch
about any living entity. when 90% is reached, there is a 15% chance per
level of mastery thereafter of intuiting specific knowledge. Psychic
strength cost is 1 per turn.

PSYCHOMETRY: intuition concerning inanimate objects.
Psychomety functions as does intuition. Alternately, it acts as a Read
Languages spell at a psychic strength cost of 5 per reading.

SUBSENTIENT TELEPATHY: a replacement for the power of speaking
to animals or plants. Psychic strength cost is 1 for mammals, 2 for
birds, 3 for reptiles, 4 for amphibians, 5 for fish or insects, 6 for plants, 7
for monstrous animals, and 8 for plants. This is the cost for one bit of
information, say the equivalent of one sentence. With each of level of
mastery the possessor of the power can get a like number of bits of
information. Creatures can pass on any information they have perceived
even if they don’t know what they perceived. If DM allows, inanimate
objects can be subject to this power at a psychic strength cost of
10. Inanimate objects have very limited perceptions.

CLAIRSENSES: This is a combination of Clairvoyance and Clairaudience.
Alternatively, the DM may decide you get one or the other, on a
random basis, each time the power is activated. Fiendish DMs may decide
you get a remote sense of touch, smell, or taste.

ECTOPLASM: allows the user to formulate a spirit duplicate of himself.
There is a 10% per level of mastery that the ectoplasmic replica will be
mistaken for the real thing. It is immune to normal weapons but is AC9
to enchanted weapons, magic, or psionics. It has the psychic potential of
the creator. It can be sent, at a speed of 12” per turn up to 48” away,
acting as a Wizard Eye. The psychic strength cost is 5 per turn.

COLD: freezes a 1’ radius circle per level of mastery. It takes 1 turn to
lower the temperature by 100 degrees F, at a psychic strength cost of
10, plus 10 for each turn it is maintained. Temperature can be decreased
in one degree F increments per psychic strength after the initial
100 degree drop.

HEAT: raises temperature at the same rate, range, and psychic strength
cost as the psionic power of Cold decreases temperature.

MAGNETISM: can either attract or repel. There is a 10% chance per
level of mastery of affecting an iron or steel object which resists (E.g. a
sword gripped by someone) and the power cannot move something
more than three times as heavy as the psychic. The range is 5’ per level
of mastery. The psychic strength cost is 10 per use.

ELECTRICITY: costs 1 psychic strength point for each hit point of damage.
Ordinary armor and saving throws v. magic do not block electricity.
After the 4th level of mastery, the electricity can be “fired” 1’ per level of
mastery thereafter.

GRAVITY CONTROL: works in an area of 5’ radius per level of mastery,
at a cost of 15 psychics strength per turn. Objects can become
totally weightless or be increased in weight five-fold.

ANTI-PSI
Deflection*
Immunity*
Reversal*
Return*
Filter*
Tuning*

IMMUNITY: This cancels a psychic power directed at the user or at
another character or in an area touched by the user. It costs 10 psychic
strength.

REVERSAL: This changes the psychic power directed at the user into
an opposite effect. Heat becomes Cold, Molecular Dart becomes
Shield, etc. at a psychic strength cost of 15.

RETURN: directs a power back at the caster (psionic only, not magic) at
a psychic strength cost of 20.

FILTER: This allows the user to absorb an incoming psionic power, at
a cost of 25 psychic strength. The power may be employed, once, by
the user of the filter, at no further cost, up to 1 day later per level of
mastery.

TUNING: alters an incoming power into any other power of the same
category (Kinetic or Cognitive) at a cost of 25 psychic strength.

Acquisition of psionic powers can be on a random basis for the first
power, taking psychic potential into account. Thereafter, whenever a
power is acquired immediately after acquisition of a first power — by
rolling the character’s psychic potential — it should be from an adjacent
power on the list. Thus, if a character gets the power of Cell Adjustment,
and is entitled to another one immediately, that power should be either
Infravision or Reduction. Greater Manifestations should only be assigned,
when a character is due to acquire a power, on a %ile roll of
91-100. Anti-Psi powers have a separate chance of acquisition. Roll for
them in addition to the standard rolls for psychic powers. Once having
obtained an Anti-Psi power, a character should not be checked for
another oftener than every 5 levels.

RETROCOGNITION: a sort of reverse fortune telling. Retrocognition
allows a mental picture of how a place looked in the past. It gives 1 week
back per level of mastery at a psychic strength cost of 2 per week seen.
DMs intending to allow this power must have a “history” for parts of
their dungeons or wilderness.

LOCATE OBJECT: reveals exact location of a known object at a
psychic strength cost of 1 per foot of distance. Each level of mastery
allows an extra foot per psychic strength expended.

SPEAR LANGUAGES: is just what it says. It can be used for actual
speech or telepathy or sig language. For each level of mastery it lasts
one turn at a cost of 10 psychic strength.

PSYCHE TRANSFER: is the psionic equivalent of the Magic Jar spell.
There is a 10% chance per level of mastery of taking over another mind
at a cost of 5 psychic strength plus an additional 5 for each hit dice level
the victim is above the psionic character. Those transferring into a nonhumanoid
body will be unfamiliar with its nervous system and be able to
operate it at only 10% effectiveness per week cumulative.

KINETIC POWERS

Lesser Manifestations	Greater Manifestations
Mind Over Body	Body Control
Suspend Animation	Change Shape
Body Equilibrium	Energy Control
Infravision*	Molecular Disruption
Cell Adjustment	Molecular Melding*
Reduction	Molecular Shield*
Expansion	Molecular Dart*
Levitation	Telekinesis
Light*	Molecular Agitation <?>
Molecular Agitation	Cold*
Body Weaponry	Heat*
Stun*	Magnetism*
Neural Disruption*	Electricity*
Spirit Form*	Gravity Control*
-	Dimension Door
-	Dimension Walk
-	Teleportation
-	Ethereal Travel

Explanation of Starred (*) Powers
INFRAVISION: works just as the Infravision spell at a psychic strength
cost of 5. It works one turn for each level of mastery.

LIGHT: is a corona surrounding the possessor of the power, giving illumination
about equal to a Druid Faerie Fire spell. It can be maintained
at a psychic strength cost of 2 per turn. For each level of mastery, the
Light radiates another 5 feet. At the 4th level it will thus be the equivalent
of an ordinary torch, at 6th level it will be approximately equal to a
good lantern, and at 10th level the user will radiate as if he possessed a
Magic Light Spell.

STUN: requires an actual touch against the opponent, allowing a 10’
distance per level of mastery up to 100’. This power actually numbs the
consciousness of the opponent — human, animal, or monster — at a
cost of 1 psychic strength per victim’s hit point; acting as a combination
Slow/Paralysis if the victim has remaining points. For example, a 30 hit
point foe exposed to a 10 point Stun will move at one-third speed. The
effects last as long as a Sleep spell would.

NEURAL DISRUPTION: actually prevents functioning of the nervous
system. It reduces all of a foe’s prime requisites at the same time, each
down 1 for every 5 psychic strength employed. The effect lasts 1 turn
per level of mastery.

SPIRIT FORM: allows the user to vibrate his atoms such that he is insubstantial
to solid matter, including magic weapons. The user is neither
Ethereal nor Astral. He can be easily perceived, is vulnerable to magic
or psionics, and cannot carry anything into the Spirit Form with him
except ordinary cotton or woolen clothing. Psychic Strength cost is 10
per turn.

MOLECULAR MELDING: works only on inanimate matter, mixing together
the molecules of two objects to bond them together. For instance,
a weapon could be bonded to the floor, or a door bonded into a
doorframe to be held as if Wizard Locked. The Meld costs 5 psychic
strength and lasts 1 turn per level of mastery.

MOLECULAR SHIELD: This increases the density of the air or liquid
between the user and an attacker. The result is an increase in the user’s
armor class 1 for two psychic stength for each melee round.

MOLECULAR DART: turns the air into a Magic Missle. The Dart costs 5
psychic strength for each one “fired” and has a range of only 10’ per
level of mastery.