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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.