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+#+TITLE: Schools of Psionics

+#+CLASS: dnd

+#+CATEGORIES: ES HB

+

+From what I've seen, the most recent few 5e Unearthed Arcana dealing

+with "Psionics and the Mystic" have been getting somewhat mixed

+reviews.  I don't think this is because of the mechanics--or rather

+not COMPLETELY because of the mechanics.  Mechanics for psionics have

+always been weird, and the 5e style is good for D&D, so maintaining

+that is good and won't get any gripes from me.

+

+But I think that no matter what purely mechanical tweaks the UA team

+has planned for the Mystic, the general lukewarm reception isn't going

+to change unless we get something else squared away first.  Something

+a little deeper--something that helps us grasp Psionics in the same

+way we grasp Magic: with a complete and intuitive system.

+

+With Weave-based magic there are schools which somewhat delineate

+magical effects (conjuration, divination, etc), but that's not exactly

+what I mean.  Not to bash the magical schools (any system will have

+inconsistencies--mine notwithstanding), but few people really

+understand what it means to be a wizard by what school of magic they

+specialize in.  An enchantment wizard isn't fundamentally different

+from an evocation one.  But a wizard is different than a bard or a

+warlock.  These "Schools of Psionics" are as much about the state of

+mind of the manifester and the method for manifestation as they are

+about the outcome of the manifestation (there are several of my

+Psionic "schools" that may each manifest effects in the transmutation

+school of magic for instance, but each according to its own particular

+rules).

+

+What I mean is this:

+

+|           | Introvertion (a) | Extroversion (b) |

+|-----------+------------------+------------------|

+| Mind (1)  | Cogitation       | Domination       |

+| Body (2)  | Sympathy         | Manifestation    |

+| Time (3)  | Prescience       | Anticipation     |

+| Space (4) | Metapsionics     | Apportation      |

+

+There are eight categories split into two primary focuses and four

+topical domains, and each of the eight describes HOW a power is

+manifested.  It tells us what our character is DOING to get the

+blasted power to work.  As a D&D culture, we know how wizards do it,

+careful study and recitation, memorization, etc.  We know how Bards do

+it, they hear the music of creation and wrap their words in it.  All

+these effects are propagated through Mystra's Weave and are bound by

+it's limitations.  But nobody has a clue how Psionics works.  Or

+rather, we all have half-baked ideas that don't jive.

+

+In order for this to work, we need to know in canon, what it means to

+BE A PSIONIST and manifest powers.  I'm probably no different than

+anybody else in my half-baked understanding, but as a Physicist and an

+editor I feel it is my duty to try to make sense of this mess.

+

+First off, since we don't have a Weave, but all magic needs a medium,

+lets make one.  Lets call it the Psionic Field.  Created spontaneously

+from the first thinking being (or Source), the Psionic Field exists on

+any plane containing thought.  Some sources of psionic power are

+stronger than others, but all thinking things produce some connection

+to the field (some might wonder if magic and the Weave itself is

+naught but an echo of Mystra's or Auppenser's mind--and in that light

+perhaps the Psionic Field is not so foreign after all).

+

+With that medium in place, the world of Psionics slowly falls into

+place as well.  Detailed descriptions of the eight schools follow:

+

+1a) Cogitation - Clarity of thought, memory, action, and connection to

+the Psionic Field.

+

+Cogitation is often one's first exposure to Psionics.  It's a

+clear-mindedness that opens up your own mind to see itself for the

+first time, and beyond that, to sense the edges of the minds of

+others.  It includes the stereotypical bloody-nosed mind reading,

+mimicry, and perfect recall.

+

+Examples of Cogitation include "Detect Thoughts" and "Mind Meld" and

+the ability to learn or borrow skills and proficiencies directly from

+the minds of others.

+

+1b) Domination - Exert dominating willpower over other minds.

+

+Once you've encountered sources outside yourself it is only natural to

+try to influence or even dominate them.  Exerting your will into the

+minds of others isn't the same as reading their thoughts, you might

+not know what your target is thinking, only that it will succumb.

+

+Examples of Domination include "Command", "Suggestion", and "Dominate

+Person".

+

+2a) Sympathy - Exerting influence upon sympathetic objects.

+

+The Psionic Field is produced by thinking creatures, but it can leave

+an imprint on even mundane objects and materials.  Objects may be

+imbued with Psionic energy to produce a variety of effects, and may

+soak up ambient energy by just sitting within the Psionic Field which

+can be later be discerned by a Psionist to know about an object's

+history.  This is done by expanding your sense of self outward from

+your mind and body and into the object.

+

+Examples of Sympathy include "Psychometry", "Animate Objects", and

+"Guards and Wards".

+

+2b) Manifestion - Creating both illusory and physically manipulable

+constructs of pure thought.

+

+By focusing and condensing ideas down to their most concrete forms,

+Psionists can manifest the essence of a thing as either an illusion or

+as a real physical object made of Astral matter (ectoplasm).  Astral

+matter is most commonly associated with the Astral plane (or plane of

+thought) where it occurs naturally, but can exist anywhere with a

+sufficient psionic field for a Psionist to conjure it.

+

+Examples of Manifestation include "Mage Hand", "Conjure Astral

+Construct", and "Programmed Illusion"

+

+3a) Prescience - See and feel other places and times.

+

+Because the actions of thinking things (sources of psionics) are not

+stagnant, their movements create ripples in the Psionic Field.

+Births, deaths, and exchanges of knowledge leave their marks.  By

+studying these echos and patterns, Psionists can discern events that

+occurred in distant parts of the world or even in the past or future.

+

+Examples of Prescience include "Detect Poison and Disease", "Scrying",

+and "Foresight".

+

+3b) Anticipation - Solidify expectation and possibility into reality.

+

+In many ways the Universe itself is just composed of the interactions

+of groups of sources of psionism and the objects being pulled in their

+wake (albeit a rather large number of each).  With an awareness of the

+way ripples propagate in the Psionic Field and by using the techniques

+of Sympathy but directing them outwards, a Psionist can begin to

+subtly manipulate expectation and the laws of Physics themselves.

+

+Examples of Anticipation include "Heat Metal", "Telekinesis", "Reverse

+Gravity", and "Time Stop".

+

+4a) Metapsionics - Manipulating sources of Psionism and their direct

+effects.

+

+The way that thinking creatures interact with the Psionic Field is

+complicated and diverse, just as the creatures which produce it are

+themselves.  By studying how the minds of Psionically-attuned

+creatures create Psionic and even Magical Weave-based effects, a

+Psionist can learn to imitate or manipulate psionic effects as they

+see them (and sometimes use what they've learned to imbue limited

+psionic potential into others).

+

+Examples of Metapsionics include "Detect Magic", "Counterspell", and

+"Awaken"

+

+4b) Apportation - Pulling and pushing on planar boundaries with the

+Psionic Field.

+

+Since the material plane is not the only one with thinking creatures,

+some far-minded Psionists can detect the Psionic Field existing on

+other planes of existence and pull on these remote fields of power.

+Doing so can banish alien creatures, abjure harmful elemental effects,

+or even tear open portals to distant planes and places.

+

+Examples of Apportation include "Dimension Door", "Banishment", and

+"Whitefire Portal"

+

+== Post Script ==

+

+Q: Specifics (where do these fit in?) - A: Answer

+

+What about Soul Knives??? - A soul knife is just an adept who uses a

+combination of Manifestation and Sympathy to conjure a blade and imbue

+it with different Sympathetic effects.  In a similar way, you can use

+these eight to extend specific domains on to different classes.

+Psionic warrior?  Uses Sympathy to strengthen his body and Prescience

+to predict the strikes of his enemy.  Psionic rogue? Apportation to

+teleport around or Cogitation to read minds to cheat at cards (or

+memorize the deck).  Once the system is in place, the variations build

+themselves because you know what's possible and what isn't.

+Restriction breeds Creativity. You gotta know the rules to use them.

+

+What's all this about "Psionist?" Isn't it "Psion" - In my

+understanding a "Psion" is a mystic who uses metapsionics to

+manipulate her own mind into casting spells with the Weave.  It is

+also a term that gets some use for a general practitioner of psionics.

+It is also one of those 4e tattoo addicts...  just a really overloaded

+term really.  Psionist sounds the best to me as a general term like

+"mage."

+

+What's the difference between Sympathy and Anticipation when

+moving/lifting things? - In Sympathy, you convince the object to move

+by extending your sense of self into it and lifting it yourself, in

+Anticipation, it moves because you trick the Universe into thinking

+the object should already be moving and so the Universe does it for

+you. Expanding self is all monk-like vs. essentially casting Luck

+Bending spells.

+

+Apportation includes an allusion to "Whitefire Portal". What's that? -

+Oh, just this cool thing I made:

+

+*Whitefire Portal*: You burn a temporary hole through the Astral Plane

+and into another plane of your choice. Once per long rest, centered on

+a point within 300 ft of you, you summon raw Astral ectoplasm which

+burns with hellish, white-hot fury. Any creature standing within 20

+feet of the whitefire must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 12d10

+fire damage or half on a successful save. Inanimate objects in the

+area also take the damage and flammable objects may catch on fire. A

+portal then opens to the chosen plane as with a Gate spell and remains

+open for 1 minute as the planes slowly knit themselves back

+together. Alternatively, instead of a specific location on a plane of

+your choice, you may choose to have your portal open into a generally

+inhospitable location in one of the elemental planes or the planes of

+positive or negative energy. If you do so, creatures who enter or

+begin their turns within 20 feet of the portal take 6d10 damage of the

+appropriate elemental or energy type.

+

+I'm actually working on an entire Psionist class for eventual

+publication on the Dungeon Master's Guild (or as part of my

+"MagnumOpis-MagicOfTheMultiverse" which covers EVERYTHING magical as I

+understand it).  Of course if somebody #wotcstaff wants to buy it

+and/or hire me, I'd be totally up for #theorycrafting for a living.