path: root/src/dnd/psionic-schools.org

#+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.