<this article might
be in error>
| The problems | A solution, part one: progression | A solution, part two: atrophy | A solution, part three: combat | Conclusion |
| Dragon | - | Psionics | - | Dragon 78 |
A h h , y e s ,
p s i o n i c s .
T h a t m o s t - l o v e d
o f
options for the AD&D?
game.
Okay, well-liked.
Would you believe endured with a
forced grin?
A l l r i g h t ,
let 's a d m i t o p e n l y w h a
t m o s t
D M s p r o b a b l y
f e e l a t t h e c o r e
o f t h e i r
souls: there are some problems with psio
n i c s i n t h e AD&D
r u l e s . T h e s y s t e m c a n
g r e a t l y u n b a l a n
c e a c a m p a i g n i t
i s
b r o u g h t i n t o ,
u n l e s s t h e D M t a k e s
s t e p s
to prevent that occurrence. Observe:
T h e s c e n e
i s a t y p i c a l d u n g e o n .
A l o n e
first-level character (never mind which
class) ventures down the musty passage
v i r t u a l l y u n a r m
e d . T h e c o r r i d o r b e n d
s t o
the left up ahead, and as our hero caut
i o u s l y a p p r o a c h e s t h e
t u r n , a h i d e o u s ,
mauve-skinned creature steps from
a r o u n d t h e
c o r n e r . A h , a m
i n d f l a y e r , t h e
adventurer calmly notes.
Calmly? A first-level character sent up
a g a i n s t a
m i n d f l a y e r ? T h a t s m a
c k s o f
o v e r k i l l o n
t h e p a r t o f t h e
D M ? t h e
p o o r c h a r a c t e r
h a s n ? t a c h a n c e !
W e l l , p e r h a p s
t h i s w o u l d b e s o
? i f t h e
c h a r a c t e r i n
q u e s t i o n w a s n o t a
p s i o n i c o f
a strength currently allowed to first-level
characters in the AD&D
rules.
T h e r u l e s
e n f o r c e a s l o w p r o g r e
s s i o n o f
skills and power for player characters
?
e x c e p t in the area of
psionics. True, the
psionic devotions and sciences, the real
?powers,? are gained slowly (more slowly
than any other set of abilities), but the
capability for high-powered psionic combat
springs full-grown from the brain of
the psionically endowed character.
Assuming that the character in question
has good to high ability scores (and if
he
doesn?t, then he shouldn?t waste his time
on psionic combat), he will have a psionic
ability of at least 200 points, probably more. Assuming also ?average?
rolls
for combat capability, this character will
have at least three defense modes and two
attack modes at his disposal ? at first
level. And this is a problem.
In the campaign I currently
run at
Princeton University, I have seen a
second-level M-U psionic blast a small
horde of charging orcs into jelly. After
all
the saving throws were rolled, too few
were left to make an effective stand
against the party's fighters. The M-U
then began dancing lightly through the
sleeping and stunned orcs, cutting
assorted throats. As I totalled up the
experience points, I resolved to modify
the system.
A second problem I discovered later
were the straight psionic combat rules
themselves. There are too few of them to
help the DM decide the ?proper? way to
run psionic-vs.-psionic battles. It?s not
that the basic procedure isn?t plain ?
it is
? but what are the characters supposed
to know about the varying efficacy of
their attack and defense modes? Can they
detect what attack/defense modes their
opponents are using, and how well their
attack worked against an opponent?s
defense? The existing rules are too vague,
and don?t address this at all.
Both problems are ones of experience
with psionics. A third problem sometimes
develops with a psionic character who
ignores his psionic powers totally after
experimenting with them for an experience
level or so. These sorts of characters are usually of a class which has
a
goodly number of innate magical abilities
to begin with, and they end up with a
sort of ?ho-hum, another set of powers?
attitude. Their psionic abilities end up
forgotten and used rarely, if at all. And
if
these powers aren?t used by the players,
why include them?
A solution, part one:
progression
In order to deal with the overabundance
of combat power that psionic ability gives to low-level characters, consider
the following modification to the system:
All elements of psionic talents are
rolled for or chosen as directed in the
current rules. The disciplines are gained by
the character at the same rate as before.
However, acquisition of psionic combat
ability is changed. The total psionic
strengths determined for the character
are
recorded as maximums; goals, in fact.
The first-level psionic character
receives only 25 points for his psionic
ability score. (Remember that this translates
into 25 attack points and 25 defense
points, as well as 25 points for the powering
of devotions. I know it?s confusing,
but we?re not about to modify the system
that much.) The only exceptions to
this
are characters whose psionic ability is
less
than 25, who immediately gain their
entire total.
Beyond the first level of experience,
each character with psionic ability over
25 will gain either 15 additional points
with each new level, or the remaining
points up to his maximum, whichever is
less, contingent upon the exercise of his
psionic faculties (see ?atrophy? below).
Likewise, the character
gains his attack
and defense
modes gradually. At first
level, he will have only defense mode F,
mind blank, and no attack capabilities.
At second level, his second defense mode
and first attack mode are gained. One of
each is gained by the character with each
following experience level (in the order
in
which they are presented in the PH)
until
the character has gained all of his predetermined
complement of psychic armament.
Optoinally, the character may wait
until he gains the various modes to
choose them, but I don't recommend this
-- I've found that players will tend to
go
for the high-cost, all-or-nothing weaponry
like psychic crush while ignoring
the more subtle attacks that can wear
away an opponent's defense, and which
are more useful and more successful at
lower levels of psionic combat.
A solution, part two:
atrophy
Establishing the psionic abilities of
characters is fine, but once you, the DM,
go to the effort and trouble of integrating
these rules into your world, how do you
keep them in use? Or have them used
o t h e r t h a n
i n a ? T h e a r r o w s
d i d n ? t s t o p
i t , t r y a
psionic blast!? situation?
Psionic monsters spring to mind (if
you?ll forgive the pun) as a way to keep
characters? psionic powers in the limelight,
but the psionic creatures of the
AD&D
world are incredibly rare ? and
worse, unspeakably vicious. An oversupply
of these creatures will do two
things: reduce the believability of your
campaign (if these psionic predators are
so common, why hasn?t the entire intelligent
population of the world been
devoured or destroyed?) and reduce the
survival rate of player characters. Neither
is very conducive to high player morale.
A more passive, less openly tyrannical
method of insuring characters? use of
their psionics is to incorporate the simple
process of atrophy; the character must
exercise his mind or lose part or all of
his
psionic abilities. It works like this:
All psionic ability is contingent upon
the exercise of those portions of the brain
which produce the psionic phenomena
that are classified as attack/defense capability
and devotions/sciences. (Exercise
for our purpose is defined as the usage
of
any psionic skill or power.) If the mind
is
exercised less often than once per game
week, all psionic ability gain (point gain
and attack/defense mode gain as described
above, if still applicable, plus the
acquisition of disciplines) is halted.
If
exercise occurs less often than once per
game month, the character will lose
10
psionic ability points (i.e., 10 each of
attack and defense strength) per month
of
psychic inactivity, and will also lose
attack/defense modes and (optionally)
levels of mastery in disciplines in the
reverse order of their gain; each game
month of disuse is the equivalent of one
experience level for purposes of this
regression.
Atrophy continues until either the
character begins exercising his psionic
abilities again, or until his psionic ability
reaches zero. If the latter is the case,
the
character is no longer psionic, and can
never regain his psionic abilities without
intensive training. This training must
be
performed under the supervision of an
experienced psionic, or some spiritual
guide like a lama or guru (optionally,
a
high-level monk may serve), and will last
a period of 2-5 years (d4+1). At the end
of
this period of training, the character?s
psionic abilities return as for a first-level
character, and he must progress in the
same manner as a beginning psionic for
him to regain his previous peak of skill.
If psionic atrophy is halted before zero
psionic ability points are reached, the
character?s psionic ability total will
remain at its current level for six game
months with no change (except, of
course, for further atrophy) before it
will
rise again. When this occurs, psionic ability
will return at a rate of 10 points and
one level of mastery/experience per game
month until the character reaches his
previous psionic status. Further progression,
if possible for the character, will
continue as normal provided his psionic
powers are exercised sufficiently.
A solution, part three:
combat
Psionic combat has always been something
of a headache for me as a DM, as
I?m sure it has for others. The procedure
for combat is not the problem; as I said
before, that?s rather straightforward.
The
headache comes from the lack of guidelines
on what characters, and players,
should know about it. I?ve usually kept
the combat tables away from the players,
at least during the fighting, but something
about this always bothered me. I
felt that eventually psionic characters
should be able to sense how efficiently
they were fighting, but not immediately.
I suggest that to simulate the increasing
skill of the psionic character at
determining his opponent?s tactical situation,
the DM should use the following
guidelines:
For their first three levels of experience,
characters are assumed not to be able to
gain any information about their opponents,
and should not be allowed to see
the psionic combat chart. The DM should
tell them only how much damage they
have received, and when opponents have
switched attack and defense modes. At
fourth level and above, incoming attack
modes may be identified, and players may
use the table to plan their defenses. At
sixth level and up, characters can identify
an opponent?s defense modes also, and
the player may refer to the psionic combat
tables for all aspects of battle. Psionic
monsters act as sixth level plus for this
determination.
Under no circumstances may players
refer to the "Defenseless
Psionic" table
when a situation requiring it arises. The
results of an attack upon a defenseless
psionic should always be in
doubt until
the attack has been made. (DMs who
actually manage to keep the DMG
out of
the hands of their players might roll a
handful of dice to suggest a random
determination of result.) It is permissible
for a player to keep a chart of what results
his character achieved with various attack
modes against certain opponents.
C o n c l u
s i o n
With a little extra work, psionic powers
in the AD&D
game don't have to be so
all-powerful. With just a little more
bookkeeping (and we DM?s don?t mind a
little more bookkeeping, do we?), the
power becomes a goal to work toward for
characters, and for those who won?t work
at it, the power vanishes quietly and cannot
be brought out as a last-resort weapon when the DM least expects it. Psionic
powers become a skill to be practiced and
honed, not just something else for characters
to pull out of their back pockets.
OUT ON A LIMB
-
Psionics revisited
-
Dear Editor:
Concerning my earlier letter, printed in
issue <link>
#81, and your response: We are both
in the
wrong. I misused terms from the
psionics appendix
in both my letter and my article ("Overhauling
the system," issue #78). I did say
(and I quote
from the published version of the article):
"Remember
that [25 points for psionic ability] translates
into 25 attack points and 25 defense points,
as well as 25 points for the powering of
devotions.
-- This is virtually the same as a line
found,
as a paragraph in itself, on page
111 of the Players
Handbook: "Note that the employment
of
these powers (the psionic disciplines --
another
case where I put the wrong word in the
article)
costs psionic strength points, the equivalent
of 1
point each of attack and defense points."
(Emphasis
mine.)
The point I was objecting to was the fact
that
Mr. Collins assumes, for the purpose of
all of his
articles in the same issue, a modified
system of
psionic strength/ability point allocation.
He
admits this on page 9. Where I was attempting
to <link>
describe relatively minor modifications
with the
same terminology as found in the PH
(with less
accuracy than I should have had), Mr. Collins
opted to redefine the relationships of
the several
types of psionic points. The result is
that, for the
purpose ofpowering psionic disciplines,
the
Psionicist
is vastly over-powered. And where
combat is concerned, one must remember
to use
half the total ability score he gives for
each combat
strength category or -- else the Psionicist
will
totally demolish an "ordinary" psionic
character.
<move this paragraph>
The ultimate source of this semantic problem
is
the confusion of terms in the psionics
appendix.
Perhaps Mr. Collins and I would not have
had
this conflict if the rules themselves were
substantially
clearer. As they currently stand, one must
usually read the section several times
before he
can understand it. I know this has been
the case
with my own players.
Robert M. Schroeck
Princeton, N . J .
(Dragon #83)
The Forum (Dragon #81)
I believe the article by Mr.
Schroeck in
issue #78 has pointed out
a major problem
in psionics; specifically,
low level characters
automatically getting their
full calculated
value of psionic points rather
than going
through a system of controlled
progression.
I would like to present this
idea for general
consideration.
According to page 3 of Eldritch
Wizardry,
"Psychic Potential" is gained
at 10% incre-
ments, plus or minus a bonus
or penalty as
determined by a d% roll.
Putting things
together with some modification,
the table
could read as follows:
Psychic Potential
| D% roll | Rate of progression per level |
| 01-10 | 4% |
| 11-25 | 5% |
| 26-50 | 6% |
| 51-75 | 10% |
| 76-90 | 11% |
| 91-99 | 12% |
| 00 | 13% |
This table may be usable in
the current
psionic system. For illustration,
let?s say a
character has a calculated
psionic ability of
200 points. As Mr. Schroeck
has suggested,
this would be a ?goal.? How
fast will the
character progress toward
this goal? We
make a d% roll on the table
given above.
Let?s say the d% roll comes
up 55. The
character will get 10% of
200 points, or 20
points, each level, half
for attack and half
for defense. Any fractions
can be rounded
up or down as the DM desires.
Psionic points can fluctuate
with changes
in wisdom,
intelligence, or charisma. On
the other hand, the rate
of progression can
remain as a fixed value or
be adjusted up or
down to follow any such fluctuation.
If the
initial point acquisition
is low, it might
prevent usage of a discipline
at 1st level. I
would not expect this problem
to have much
effect on game balance.
Ed Zmitravich
Meadow, Utah
(Dragon #81)
Although my AD&D group
has used
psionics for quite a while,
there have been a
few questions along the way.
The articles in
issue #78 helped to
clear much of these
away. One question still:
Why relate psionic
progression to class progression
at all? No
doubt it lessens the DM?s
?not another item
to keep track of? blues,
but I can?t find the
logic behind it. A character?s
mental abili-
ties (i.e., psionics) have
little relation to the
character?s class. When you
realize that the
acquisition of psionic disciplines
depends
upon the progression within
the character?s
class and moreso upon which
class is cho-
sen, it makes even less sense.
Comparisons of the separate
class pro-
gression tables shows that
a druid would
gain disciplines quicker
than any other
class. Why? Logic along one
line would say
that a magic-user or illusionist
(who uses
naught but his/her mind normally)
would
acquire them faster. Along
another line of
logic, a fighter (who uses
mostly his brawn
with less mind) would acquire
them fastest
as the ?spell users? already
have their
minds busy holding spells.
Yet the druid
gains them faster than any
other class be-
cause he/she is a druid.
Either way you
lose.
One suggestion would be to
have a sepa-
rate progression for the
gaining of disci-
plines and attack/defense
modes. This could
possibly be modified by the
pertinent ability
scores (intelligence, wisdom,
and charisma)
and/or the character?s total
psionic ability
score. A bonus/penalty might
be added per
the class that is chosen.
Another suggestion might be
to create a
new class along the lines
of Mr. Collins?
Psionicist.
A character who showed poten-
tial (per the
previous roll of the dice) could
opt for this class only
to develop the talent.
Choosing a class other than
this one would
mean that the talent was
never developed
and would not be available
to the character.
Rodney L. Barnes
Albany, Ore.
(Dragon #81)
Of the articles on psionics
in issue #78
(which I think were excellent,
considering
they seemed obligated to
stay within the
original rules), the one
that caught my
attention the most was the
one on "Over-
hauling the system".?
I don?t think this
article did enough overhauling.
The author was quite right
when he
pointed out the role psionics
come to play in
a typical AD&D
game, although there
wasn?t enough stress put
on the problem as
I see it. The real problem
seems to spring
from the players? refusing
to realize that
psionics would have more
of an effect on
their characters than a new
magic item that
spent most of its time in
a leather case. The
best ideas for this come
from Stephen King
("Carrie" being
the most relevant in a
typical fantasy world). If
psionics are so
rare and different, wouldn?t
they invoke
some kind of awe in people,
especially
uneducated commoners in a
medieval or
pre-medieval setting? It
seems more logical
that the power would be taken
as most
things the majority of people
can?t under-
stand, that is, as evil.
Wouldn?t a character
with these powers have severe
problems
with family and local populace?
Not to
mention the character?s own
troubled
thoughts on the subject;
would even the
character understand so fully
his/her talent?
The trouble I see with the
AD&D
psionic
system is in generalization.
The setting
down of all psionic possibilities
in one set of
charts and tables may make
it easier to
handle in gaming purposes,
but makes
psionics too similar to each
other. This takes
out the novelty that could
be stirred into
psionic combat if it came
down to a com-
parison of power and skillful
use of unique
mental powers, rather than
an overbearing
of a psionic by another with
more options
(with which the psionic is
familiar, though
he/she doesn?t have them)
and power
points. Letting characters
know their points
and full powers I see as
a mistake; wouldn?t
a real psionic spend a great
deal of his/her
life discovering and developing
these
strange abilities? Wouldn?t
it be quite likely
that such a person would
go through life
with some powers never fully
developed or
even discovered? Individualizing
psionics
can be hard work, but can
add a new di-
mension to the psionic character
and put a
bit more of the details into
the DM?s hands.
Joseph D. Wilkinson II
Mountain Brook, Ala.
(Dragon #81)
