Exactly what are "spells resembling
psionic powers" in the AD&D game?
That's easy. We can get a list from the
DMG, without too
much trouble -- merge the "Spells
Resembling Psionic Powers" roster on
page 182 with the list of "psionic related
powers" on page 78 -- and it seems pretty
complete.

Now the questions get tougher. Why
this particular list? Why are some spells
included, but others that seem to be
related sorts of magic not included? Does
every sort of spell on that list have a similarity
to at least one of the psionic disciplines?
And, conversely, does every psionic
discipline have a similarity with at
least one of the listed spells?

By trying to answer these questions,
and others that will crop up along the
way, the diligent DM can discern some of
the ?facts of nature? concerning the
AD&D? magic system and the scope and
nature of psionic powers as specified in
the rules. These findings may help when
you?re trying to legislate the effects of a
psionic power, and the things you learn
about certain sorts of magic along the
way might be handy when you?re dealing
with those spells ? perhaps when psionic
power isn?t even part of the action.
We know from the brief narrative in
the DMG that the use of "Spells
Resembling Psionic Powers" increases the
probability that a subsequent random
encounter will be with a psionic creature,
in the same way that the use of real psionic
power does. The employment of
?psionic related power? somehow makes
its non-psionic user more susceptible to a
psionic blast attack (-4 on saving throw),
if the power is being used when the attack
is made. Both rules imply that the use of
psionic powers, or of certain sorts of
magic that somehow resemble psionic
powers, leaves a ?residue? in the area
around the psionics-user or spell caster
that can be detected at some distance, and
perhaps ?homed in on? (in the case of a
blast attack on a non-psionic) by a creature
possessing psionic ability.
The composition of this residue (think
of it as brain waves) and the ability of
another creature to detect it does not
change depending on the specific type of
psionic power being employed or simulated;
any of the psionic creatures listed
on the encounter table can be the
?chosen? encounter, regardless of
whether the creature in question possesses
the same magical or psionic ability that
created the residue in the first place.

The only difference between actual psionics
and spells resembling psionic powers
(SRPP), for purposes of encounter
determination, is one of intensity or duration:
We are told that the residue from the
use of actual psionics lingers for one
turn, but evidence of the use of SRPP is
only detectable for one round ? one
tenth as long ? after the spell is cast.
This tells us to put proper emphasis on
the words ?resembling? when we analyze
the whys and wherefores of the SRPP and
their correlation to actual psionics. Spells
resembling psionic powers are just that
? spells, first and foremost. The effects of
such spells (and thereby, their nature)
may be quite similar to psionic disciplines
? in some cases, spells and psionic
powers have the same ?game names.? But
in no case are they identical in nature.

We'll take the list of SRPP the way it?s
given on p. 182, only deviating from
alphabetical order when we mix in something
from the list on p. 78 (the lists are
by no means identical), or when it's convenient
to group related spells in the
same entry, such as with . . .

Astral spell, blink, dimension door, and plane shift.
All of the SRPP in this
?plane spell? category concern the caster
?s ability to travel (purposely or incidentally)
to another of the planes of existence.
In that respect, they are all similar
to the psionic disciplines of astral projection,
dimension door, dimension walk,
etherealness, and probability travel. Presumably,
then, the ability to project one?s
body or one?s consciousness from the
Prime Material Plane to another plane
requires at least a modicum of ?mental
energy? on the part of the perpetrator ?
whether the means of getting there is
provided by a cleric, magic-user, or illusionist
spell or a psionic discipline.

Okay, that?s logical enough, even if we
don?t know the exact nature of the ?mental
energy? involved. But why aren?t
spells like gate and duo-dimension also
listed as SRPP? They also mention, and
apparently have something to do with,
other planes. But neither of those spells
(or contact other plane, for that matter)
empowers the target(s) of the spell to
actually travel to another plane. Gate
?causes an ultra-dimensional connection,
? but the spell as described does not
enable the caster to travel to another
plane; the gate is one way only. Likewise,
a magic-user who casts duo-dimension on
himself or herself does not for an instant
completely leave the Prime Material

Plane. Because ?the magic-user has a portion
(italics mine) of his or her existence
on the Astral Plane? when the spell is in
effect, it is possible for the spell to backfire,
and for the caster to be forcibly
pulled entirely into the Astral Plane. But
this is not a direct effect of the spell itself;
at no time does the spell caster ever
entirely vacate the Prime Material Plane
(either in body or in spirit) of his or her
own volition. Obviously, contact other
plane (as its name clearly implies) also
does not pertain to actual travel to
another plane, and in this respect is also
dissimilar to other ?plane spells? that are
listed as SRPP.

Augury:
This looks like a troublesome
entry on the SRPP list, since it stands by
itself. But everything makes a bit more
sense if we add in divination, locate
object, and true seeing from the "related
power" list on p. 78. All of these powers,
then, are semi-psionic in nature, but such
spells as find the path and vision aren?t
mentioned in either list.
The corollary to augury and the spells
from the ?related power? list among the
psionic discipines is precognition. How
are these ?cousins? related in a way that
the other mentioned spells are not? Augury
and precognition have to do with the
?immediate future? ? a phrase used in
both descriptions in the Players Handbook
? and they impart the ability to
have foreknowledge of the outcome of a
certain turn of events, or the ability to
choose what will turn out to be the most
beneficial course of action. Divination
comes close to achieving the same effect,
but doesn?t duplicate it, and thereby is on
the ?power list? but not the ?spell list.?
True seeing and find the path don?t
qualify as SRPP, under the same conditions
that augury does, because they
?merely? impart the ability to perceive
the truth about conditions that already
exist. (True seeing is psionic-related for a
different reason ? because of its similarity
to know alignment and the discipline
of aura alteration, about which more
later.)
The vision spell isn?t in the same category
as augury for a reason which may
apply in some other cases as well: it has
to do with where the power of the spell
comes from. The DMG tells us that cleric
spells of third level and higher are
granted through the grace of the cleric's
deity, either being bestowed by the deity
itself or ?supernatural servants? of the
deity. In one sense, the cleric is not

responsible for his or her ability to cast
such spells. In the case of the spells mentioned,
the ability gained by the cleric
through the casting comes from an outside
source. Although having high wisdom
may be a prerequisite to acquire
access to some of these spells, the effecting
of the magic does not draw any
?mental energy? from the caster personally.
Likewise, vision is a spell which
depends for its success upon ?supernatural
guidance? ? even assuming an illusionist
has sufficiently high intelligence
to even learn the spell, its efficacy is still
ultimately subject to the whim of the
supernatural entity being called upon.
Locate object is a spell that apparently
works in a fashion similar to the disciplines
of object reading and sensitivity to
psychic impressions, where the user
makes his mind receptive and sensitive to
?vibrations? from his surroundings. The
mind of a non-psionic using locate object
is in this receptive state, and thus more
liable to be affected by a psionic blast.

Charm (any), hypnotism:
The similarities
between charm spells and the psionic
disciplines of domination and mass domination
are apparent. The psionic disciplines
are apparently somewhat more
powerful, since it is possible for a ?dominator
? to cause a target to do something
against its will, whereas a ?charmer? had
best choose his instructions with some

discretion. Hypnotism is very similar to a
charm, as the books tell us, and can be
thought of in the same way for purposes
of this examination. So, granted that
charms and domination are essentially
similar, how are they different from spells
such as suggestion, quest, geas, and confusion?
All of those spells are on the
?power? list but not on the SRPP list.

The success of an attempt to charm, or
to exercise some sort of domination, does
not require that the target(s) be pleasantly
disposed toward the one employing the
power or spell. In contrast, spells such as
friends and animal friendship draw upon
some external source that manifests itself
in a ?magical? change of attitude in the
target(s). These spells don?t get into the
mind of the target, in the way and to the
degree, that a charm spell does. Yes,
animal friendship does have a duration of
?permanent,? but remember that the
spell affects no creature of more than
semi-intelligence. Friends is relatively
weak and wears off relatively quickly,
especially considering that it is liable to
be used mainly by low-level magic-users.

In order to appreciate why quest and
geas are not on the SRPP list, recall the
difference in intensity between domination
of a psionic sort and a magical
charm. As the latter is to the former, so
are quest and geas less ?powerful,? in a
way, than a charm spell ? so much less,
it seems, that the psionic-like emanations

they give off are not detectable. Quest and
geus are general, not specific, in terms of
the demands they place on the target of
the spell. The intent and capability of
these spells is not to determine how something
is accomplished, but to guarantee
(as well as possible) that the task in question
is performed.

The two forms of psionic domination,
and magical charming, have objectives
that are relatively short- term (limited
duration) and relatively specific;
although a properly worded quest or geas
instruction may also be short-term and
specific, those spells can never do more
than ?post a notice,? in effect ? and even
if the target of a quest (for instance) fails
the saving throw vs. the spell, he can still
subvert the intent of the spell (if willing
or able to withstand the penalty for doing
so). In a related sense, suggestion also
lacks the power to leave any discernible
?psionic residue?: The spell empowers
the caster to ?influence the actions of the
chosen recipient,? which is not the same
as enabling the caster to give a precise
instruction. Suggestion does not imply
control in the way that charm and domination
do, but merely a sort of enhanced
persuasive ability on the part of the caster.
Yes, it?s a difference of degree, but so is
there a difference of degree between domination
and charm.

The visible effects of a spell like confusion
might make it seem like a magic
involving control, but upon examination
it proves to be more closely related to a
spell like remove (cause) fear. In the case
of either spell, there?s no real ?mind control
? involved. The caster cannot dictate,
in any specific way, how the target of the
spell will act. This lack of control is especially
evident in the confusion spell,
where it is possible that the victim(s) of
the spell will attack the caster (obviously
against the caster?s wishes) even if the
casting of the spell succeeds.
At first consideration, it seems hard to
justify lumping charm plants, fire charm,
and snake charm as SRPP, along with
those charm spells that work only upon,
and directly upon, sentient creatures.
Here?s where the ?mental energy? issue
comes in again: Even though the object
of the spell (plants or snakes) or the
medium through which the spell is
effected (fire) is not innately intelligent ?
with no mind to be controlled ? nevertheless,
the spellcaster must expend some
of this detectable ?mental energy? in the
process of making the spell work. In the
case of fire charm, this energy is diffused
and dissipated by and through the fire
source, so that the charm cannot convey a
specific instruction other than ?remaining
motionless and gazing? ? but it can
affect creatures in a very wide radius
around the fire. And, when all is said and
done, it?s still a charm spell because of
the degree of control it gives the caster
over the spell?s victims.

Clairaudience, clairvoyance, ESP:
The
latter spell is not really related to the first
two, but in their roles as SRPP, all three
of these spells can be justified with the
same reasoning. They all seem to require
some form of the aforementioned ?mental
energy? to be supplied by and from the
spellcaster. The clairaudience and clairvoyance
spells enable the caster to see or
hear ?in his or her mind? the desired
information. In some way, then, the spell
provides a means of transmission of that
information from the ?spell locale? to the
caster?s location. We might presume that
the caster?s brain has to exude some form
of mental energy to be able to receive the

incoming signals, or perhaps the incoming
signals are, in this case, the psioniclike
energy that can attract a psionic creature.
The ESP spell works in virtually the
same way, in terms of how information is
exchanged between the caster and the
target of the spell.

Each of these spells has a namesake
among the psionic disciplines. But none
of the disciplines operate in exactly the
same way as the spells they?re named after
(or vice versa?). The clair- disciplines
both have strictly limited maximum
ranges, but in each of the spell descriptions,
it is said that ?distance is not a factor
? in the caster?s choice of a spell locale.
This is because the power that ?drives?
the clairaudience and clairvoyance spells
comes predominantly from an external
source (the ?magic? of the spell) ? a
source to which physical distance is
meaningless. The power that drives the
psionic disciplines comes entirely from
the mind of the one employing the discipline(
s). Obviously, no single mind is as
powerful as the ?source of magic? (whatever
that may be); it?s easy to understand
why a mind that has to provide all the
power for clairaudience or clairvoyance
has a limit to the distance over which it
can operate.

The only substantial difference between
psionic ESP and magical ESP is, again,
in areas of effect. But it is a substantial
difference. Because psionic ESP emanates
from the user of the discipline, it can be
directed (through concentration) in a particular
path 1? wide and up to 9? long,
radiating from the psionic character.
Magical ESP also has a maximum range
of 9?, but only for a magic-user of 18th
level or higher. And regardless of the level
of the caster, only one creature can be
?probed? at a time. The difference
between the two ESP?s must have something
to do with magical ESP being more
a function of receiving impressions
(through the one-to-one magical conduit),
while psionic ESP gets its impetus
from a psionic mind transmitting (sending
out a sensor probe, if you prefer) in
the direction of an area or a specific
target. Then, assuming the psionic mind
picks up something to ?read,? it is also
able to receive along the psychic circuit it
has established ? in much the same way
that a spell caster must exert at least a
modicum of the same sort of mental
energy to make his mind receptive to the
returning impressions.

Cure (any), heal:
The obvous psionic
?cousin? to this group of spells is cell
adjustment. But what do any of these
functions, similar in effect though they
may be, have to do with ?brain power??
Fortunately, the name of the psionic discipline
and the first line of its description
give us a clue to sink our claws into. The
discipline works ?by means of psionic
attunement to the cells? of a wounded or
diseased individual.

(I am reminded,
among other things, of an excellent Star Trek episode, wherein an "empath" literally
took wounds upon herself -- from
the victim. She didn't make it to the end
of the show, but she did enable McCoy to
live to become a movie star.)
    <Star Trek - S03E12 The Empath Preview Trailer.avi>
    <check if that is the correct episode>
    <if so, then link to that trailer, and, the full episode>

Since we
don?t know much about how the magic
of cure and heal spells is actually effected,
let?s see if this explanation fits for both
psionics and magic:
Curing damage, or disease, or any sort
of curable affliction, is a two-step process
that, for an imperceptible instant, takes a
lot out of the spell caster or psionics-user.
The first step happens immediatedly
when the healer/curer touches the beneficiary:
Actual physiological damage is
transferred from the sick to the well,
?absorbed? by the healer?s system. In the
instant just after this transfer, the cleric or
psionic is healed or cured of the affliction
that was just siphoned from the creature
touched.
Even in that fraction of an instant, the
?taking? of damage (or disease, or whatever)
by the healer so abruptly could be a
shock to the healer?s system ? perhaps a
fatal shock. It would be, except that the
magic of a cure or heal spell, and the
essence of the power behind cell adjustment,
both involve the expenditure of
mental energy. In this case, the energy is
manifested in the healer?s ?attunement?
to the ailments of the spell recipient. The
brain of the healer, acting either as a conduit
for the magic or as the actual source
of the psionic power, ?receives? the
wounds from the injured character
through the body?s nervous system when
the touch takes place. Then, almost
instantaneously, it disperses those
?wound impulses? into the healer?s body
and at the same time sort of talks itself
into thinking that what just happened
didn?t really happen; that is, there can?t
be any ?system shock? because the brain
of the healer has convinced itself that no
such shock has taken place.
Cure and heal magic works so quickly
(from the laying on of hands to ?That?ll
be $12.95?) that the cleric is healed before
the brain has a chance to disbelieve itself.
The perpetration of this shock-preventing

illusion, even though it?s magically
(externally) inspired, requires the brain to
release some mental energy. In the case of
these SRPP (and perhaps others) the
release of energy may be involuntary or
subconscious, but it happens nonetheless.
The difference between magical and
psionic healing is one of precision. By the
conscious, premeditated expenditure of a
certain number of strength points, a psionic
can cure a certain amount of damage:
very precise. By the casting of a cure
wounds or a heal spell, a cleric can restore
an indefinite number of hit points
to the recipient. The quantitative success
of such a spell varies from casting to casting;
the cleric, unlike the psionic, is not
in control of precisely how many points
will be cured. (Since spells such as cure
disease and cure blindness are all-ornothing
affairs, this reasoning does not,
and need not, apply to them.)

Detect (any), know alignment: The
psionic parallels to these spells are detection
of good or evil, detection of magic,
sensitivity to psychic impressions, and
(for the latter spell) aura alteration. What
they all have in common is a phenomenon
very similar to that described above
for the ESP-type spells. The brain must
use energy to ?transmit? psionic-like
emanations in order to be able to receive
the incoming ?detection? impressions.
Comparisons between magic and psionics
in this category are interesting and
informative. The psionic detection disciplines
take awhile (several levels of mastery)
to attain their greatest power, but
they do offer the user the chance to know
not just goodness or evilness, but exact
alignment; not just magic or not-magic,
but the type of magic (if any) detected.
These are abilities that the corresponding
detect spells don?t have. This indicates
that the psionic, because his or her power
comes from within, can refine that power
into a source of more and better information.
The spell caster, who relies in part
on an external trigger for the magic,
doesn?t have that much control over the
forces that make detection possible. Similarly,
aura alteration also ?detects? the
same information as the know alignment
spell, but it is much more versatile and
potentially powerful than the spell (as
befits a psionic major science compared
to a ?mere? 2nd-level cleric spell).

Enlarge, feather fall, heat metal, levitate,
polymorph (any), shape change:
That?s quite a mixed bag of spells, yet
they?re all on the SRPP list for something
they have in common ? a quality these
spells share with the psionic disciplines
of (not necessarily in order of similarity)
body equilibrium, body weaponry, body
control, energy control, expansion, levitation,
molecular agitation, reduction,
molecular manipuation, molecular rearrangement,
shape alteration, and possibly
also mind over body.

That last discipline is mentioned out of
order because it isn?t quite like any of the
others, but at the same time it captures
the essence of what makes all these magical
and psionic powers similar: Somehow,
the mind of a psionic or a spell caster
using one of these powers exerts or
exudes some mental energy that plays a
part in the actual manipulation of molecules.
The chemical and/or physical
nature of the object of the spell or discipline
is altered. We don?t have any clues
yet to how this molecular alteration takes
place in each particular manifestation of
the effect, but there are some tipoffs to the
general way in which these powers work.
The heat metal spell enables a druid to
?excite the molecules of ferrous metal.?
Enlarge affects a target?s size and weight,
but not its magical abilities or (necessarily)
its ?to hit? and damage ability. The
object of a feather fall ?immediately
assumes the mass of a feathery piece of
down.? Levitate does not grant any
horizontal movement ability to the
affected object; all it does is change the
object?s relationship with respect to gravity,
by altering its mass in a way that
changes its buoyancy. Likewise, feather
fall doesn?t impart any movement to an
object that it doesn?t already have when
the spell is cast: It affects mass, and it?s
the object?s reduction in mass that affects
its change in velocity.
A very good clue to the nature of the
polymorph spells is in the explanation
on page 45 of the DMG: Polymorph other
is effectively useless on beings that possess
some sort of innate shape-changing
ability, because they can (within one
round) re-alter their molecules to regain
their original form.

(For a good example
of how an innate polymorphing ability
might work biologically, see "The Ecology
of the Mimic" in issue #75 of
DRAGON® Magazine.)

Polymorphing,
then, is also a molecule-altering power,
somhow made possible (at least in part)
by the expenditure of mental force on the
part of the shape-changer. The process of
?thinking? oneself, or someone/something
else, into a different form or a different
molecular configuration might
unleash energy of a sort that apparently
doesn?t exist in our real world.
It almost sounds like a paradox: It
takes mental energy on the part of the
?polymorpher? to cause a change ? yet
the one thing a polymorph or shape
change spell does not alter is the subject?s
intelligence. Apparently, you can mess
with someone?s molecules via a polymorph
spell, but the effect of the spell
doesn?t go deep enough to actually alter
the mental/intellectual essence of the
subject.

Of the psionic disciplines listed at the
start of this section, body weaponry specifically
mentions ?altering molecules?
and three other disciplines have the word

?molecular? in their titles. Unfortunately,
those are the only hints we?ve got
about how the psionic molecule-altering
power works. But we do know what these
disciplines do, and the effects of all of
them are similar enough to assume that
the how is also similar in all cases; that
is, they all do what they do by altering
the molecular composition of the object
or creature being affected.

Now we?ve come to the toughest question
we?ll probably have to answer: If
polymorph spells are psionic-related, why
not also transmute rock to mud, transmute
metal to wood, and stone to flesh?
Unfortunately, this answer relies in
part on semantics; that is, we?ll have to
accept a definition of ?transmuting? that
makes that process different from ?polymorphing.
? For starters, consider what
transmute rock to mud (or the reverse)
does: The spell doesn?t really change the
molecular nature of the affected object,
any more than you change the nature of
the dirt in your garden by pouring water
on it to make it into mud, or (by not
pouring water on it) by allowing wet dirt
to dry up and harden. In its simplest
terms, all the rock to mud spell does is
inject moisture into the substance being
affected ? moisture that fills the spaces
between the molecules of the rock, but
that does not alter the chemical/physical
nature of the molecules themselves.
Transmute metal to wood is distinctly
different from rock to mud for two reasons:
It is not reversible, and not even a
dispel magic spell can undo what the
spell has caused to happen. The metal to
wood change is quite clearly a magically
inspired alteration, as opposed to a mentally
inspired one. And the spell is only
available to those select few characters
able to use seventh-level druid spells.
Using the same reasoning pointed out
above concerning vision vs. augury, we
can presume that the druid?s deity ? not
the druid ? is the driving force behind
the success of this spell. Neither of the
transmute spells implies that the spell
caster expends his or her own ?mental
energy? to make the spell work.

The best reason for why stone to flesh

isn?t on the SRPP list has to do with the
limitations of the magic. Sure, it?s powerful
magic ? but limited nonetheless. You
can?t change stone to a certain kind of
flesh; all you can do is restore the
?stoned? creature to its original form.
You can?t change flesh to a certain kind
of stone. The spell, in either application,
works in one way only. There is no provision
for being able to ?fine tune? the
change to a varying degree depending on
the level of the caster. By contrast, the
psionic disciplines of molecular manipulation
and molecular rearrangement have
very specific manifestations, even at the
lowest levels of mastery. The psionic can
do certain things to certain kinds of materials,
which implies that the disciplineuser
has a form of control over those
changes that the spell caster doesn?t have.
Exerting this control is what causes the
radiation of the ?mental energy? that
makes the use of the disciplines detectable
by other psionic creatures. It?s also worth
noting that molecular rearrangement is
very debilitating to the brain of the psionic
character or creature employing it; the
power can only be used once a month for
this reason. The transmute spells and
stone to flesh can be cast as often as the
caster is willing or able to do so.

Why aren?t spells such as resist heat,
resist cold, resist fire, and water breathing
on the SRPP list when they seem to have
so much in common with psionic disciplines
like body control? As in other
cases, we have to consider the cause of the
energy that makes the spell or discipline
possible, without necessarily assuming a
similarity in the nature of the energies
based on the resemblance between the
effect of each type of power. Also, we can
learn something by examining the system
of naming these various powers. The
word ?control? is the giveaway here: psionics
can indulge in body control and
energy control, but the only magic spells
with that word in their names are control weather and control winds.
In each of those cases, the control is exercised over a
non-sentient aspect of the environment
around the spell caster. The magical
?control? has no effect on the minds or

bodies of living things within the spell?s
area of effect.
If the enlarge spell is related to the disciplines
of expansion and reduction, then
why isn?t a spell like animal growth also
on the SRPP list? Again, the ?cause and
effect? argument comes into play here:
Just because certain spells and psionic
disciplines (apparently) do the same
thing, it doesn?t necessarily follow that
they reach that end by the same means.
Expansion and reduction affect the individual
psionic character, and nothing
else; the enlarge spell, although it can be
cast on someone or something besides the
spell caster, also only affects one thing at
one time. Animal growth betrays its
external/magical origins by the fact that
the spell can affect more than one creature
at one time.

Feign death, temporal stasis: Both of
these spells have a direct relationship to
the discipline suspend animation. All
three powers involve the ability to change
the biochemical nature of the recipient
creature, in a way that is probably related
to the energy that causes a polymorph
spell to work. And in some ways, the
energy being employed by or channeled
through the user of one of these three
powers also resembles the energy of a cure
spell. The brain (either of the user or the
recipient, or both) is made to ?believe?
that it and the body are quite all right,
even though the recipient looks dead or
comatose to an outside observer. In all
three cases, the suspend-animation power
can be turned on and off ? controlled ?
by the psionic or the spell caster,
although in the case of temporal stasis
this does require the casting of a second
spell. Feign death, a spell of much lower
level than temporal stasis, requires that
the subject creature be willing to undergo
the change ? but the same sort of energy
is involved in both cases.

Invisibility (any): The description of
the psionic discipline of invisibility helps
us define the nature of both types of
invisibility. That section of text tells us
something very fundamental about magical
invisibility: it affects light waves,
apparently by somehow bending them
around the invisible creature or object, so
that this light is not reflected back to the
viewer in the form of a visible image. In
contrast, the DMG tells us that psionic
invisibility is a "mind control ability"
and the PH says that ?this
power affects minds, not light waves or
similar physical manifestations.?
But invisibility, no matter what sort,
leaves some kind of a trace in the surrounding
environment. When something
becomes invisible, it upsets the balance of
nature in so doing; there is no such thing
as natural invisibility. This change in the
?continuum of nature,? if you will, is
what a psionic creature picks up on. The
ability to sense this change in the natural

order of things is a mental/psychological
process, not precisely a function of
extraordinary sensory powers. The DMG
does indicate that the ability to detect
invisibility may in many cases have to do
with keen hearing or smell. But these
ultra-sensitive sensory inputs are worthless
unless the character or creature possessing
them also has the mental ability
to process the information and recognize
the significance of what he is seeing or
hearing. Intelligence is the determining
factor, in game terms, for whether or not
a creature can detect invisibility. It is also
possible for non-intelligent creatures with
sharp ears or noses to have a chance of
detecting invisibility ? because sensory
sensitivity is, for this purpose, considered
equivalent to intelligence.

The cause of magical invisibility is different
from the cause of psionic invisibility,
but both types of invisibility produce
the same effect on the surrounding environment,
and this effect is what the psionic
mind homes in on.

Remove curse, stone tell:
These spells
have a parallel in the psionic disciplines
of aura alteration (for the former) and
object reading and sensitivity to psychic
impressions (for the latter). In each case,
their similarity to psionics is bound up in
the idea of the ?receptive mind? first
mentioned above in the text concerning
locate object. The description of the sensitivity
to psychic impressions discipline
gives us our best clue when it mentions
the ?psychic residue? that is left in an
area, or upon an object. Similarly, a
character or creature?s alignment is
?broadcast? through the area around that
creature. The attempt to read these
impulses involves the expenditure of

mental energy, and the ?signal? sent out
by this mental energy is detectable by the
psionic mind. One use of aura alteration
is to ?recognize and alter unfavorable
aura in another.? The key word there is
?recognize,? indicating that detection of
the condition must occur before a change
can be effected. Presumably, although the
spell description doesn?t come right out
and say it, remove curse carries with it a
form of this detection ability; you have to
know what is wrong, or at least that
something is wrong, before you can fix it.

Tele- (any):
This group of spells includes telekinesis and teleport.
It also
takes in telepathy, such as the power put
out by the use of a helm of telepathy. The
related psionic disciplines include telekinesis,
telempathic projection, telepathy,
telepathic projection, and teleportation.
Some of these powers are drastically
different from the others in terms of what
they accomplish, but the three magical
powers all have one important thing in
common: The driving force behind them
is mental energy. Telekinesis enables the
caster to ?move objects by will force.?
Teleport requires that the caster have ?a
clear mental picture? of the destination
in order for the spell to have the best
chance of succeeding. The user of a helm
of telepathy must expend ?conscious
effort? to pick up thoughts from a target,
just as each of the spells obviously
requires that kind of effort.

So, where does all this leave us? The
examination is far from complete, but a
few ?facts? are clearer than they were
when we started. The act of ?using your
head,? in the context of the AD&D universe,
can produce some powerful and

amazing results, of a scope beyond that
which we know about in our real world.
But at the same time, employing this
?brain power? leaves a trail ? one
which, for some creatures, is just as easy
to follow as a set of footprints or an odor.
Lots of questions remain, mostly concerning
why some spells and powers are
on one of the DMG's "psionic lists" but <("Spells Resembling Psionic Powers" , "psionic related powers")>
not the other. Why don?t all psionic-like
forces make their users both detectable
and susceptible? This article has tried to
address that question with respect to
some types of spells, but the topic really
isn?t in the realm of this examination.
And maybe some of those questions
simply can?t be answered.

But then again, spell casters don?t need
to know how their magic works; the
important thing is that it does work.
Characters and creatures who use psionic
disciplines or related powers may not
have the slightest inkling of the nature of
the forces they're tapping; the important
thing is that those forces obviously can be
tapped and used for the benefit of the one
who does so. And the bottom line in each
case, whether the force is magical or psionic,
is that no good thing is without its
un-good aspects. If a party isn't prepared
to accept the possibility -- however small
-- that an intellect devourer may be the
next thing they see, then they'd be well
advised to quite literally think twice
before throwing that detect evil spell.