From ece8bac9af09dd0c2e1c994f0db1e63309d4bb7b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: AndrewMurrell Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 14:16:29 -0500 Subject: removed some janky psionics --- src/dnd/psionic-schools.org | 220 -------------------------------------------- 1 file changed, 220 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 src/dnd/psionic-schools.org (limited to 'src/dnd/psionic-schools.org') diff --git a/src/dnd/psionic-schools.org b/src/dnd/psionic-schools.org deleted file mode 100644 index 9f71b15..0000000 --- a/src/dnd/psionic-schools.org +++ /dev/null @@ -1,220 +0,0 @@ -#+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. -- cgit v1.2.3