Timerover51
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You are applying the character development rules too rigidly. For Traveller, 3 terms of prior career is the minimum that I go with.
Not so Nice Psi
- Thread starter Timerover51
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You are applying the character development rules too rigidly. For Traveller, 3 terms of prior career is the minimum that I go with.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Rule as you like. I'm just commenting that per the original rules considering the whole of chargen, psionics plays a balancing role for the hardcore no compromise one and out result, as opposed to being 'overpowered'.
Gotta watch out for them young moisture farmers that never make the Naval Academy.
Star Wars came out after CT-77 was sent to the printer. As noted in an interview of Marc in Dragon.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
I'm aware of the timing- I didn't think it was defined by the movie, it's strictly a game mechanic to both cover aspects of the source sci fi and also IMO the age/option thing.
The Alfred Bester classics The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man alone fully justify their inclusion as a 'generic template' system.
But it does give one the opportunity to tell the 5 term guy he's 'too old to begin the training' in appropriate Yodaspeak.
Yes, the Zhodani. And that's what makes them so difficult for us to understand them, and why we see at once with awe and repulsion.
The existence of the "Psionics Institute" in a society where psionics are supposedly viewed with mistrust at best has always seemed strange to me. It seems to drive these dangerous psionics further underground instead of making them easier to track.
I have no problem with the Zhodani being adversaries with a heavy bent towards psionic, it helps differentiate them from the Imperium.
I think psionics would have been better left as an optional rule in Traveller. But they seem to be part of the 3I setting, even if their implications are not played out the way we think they should.
I actually like psionics in space opera. But in harder science fiction it becomes harder and harder to sustain suspension of disbelief around the simultaneous existance of psionics and their lack of profound impact on the shape of society.
I have no problem with the Zhodani being adversaries with a heavy bent towards psionic, it helps differentiate them from the Imperium.
I think psionics would have been better left as an optional rule in Traveller. But they seem to be part of the 3I setting, even if their implications are not played out the way we think they should.
I actually like psionics in space opera. But in harder science fiction it becomes harder and harder to sustain suspension of disbelief around the simultaneous existance of psionics and their lack of profound impact on the shape of society.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Both of the Bester classics assume big effects as a result of the psionic powers.
Maybe that's why the designers put in the artificially-imposed constraint of "psi is illegal" in the Imperium?
You mean, how it works in Zhodani space? ;-) (Although this also has a constraint: the existing psionic nobility will act to bring any upstart into line...)
I see your point. Although, the psi skills in Trav are not hugely powerful compared to, say, the abilities in the ol' Psionics Handbook for D&D...
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
One way to reign that stuff in, for instance the telekinetic super assassin/saboteur, is to require the telekinetic to 'see' what he is manipulating.
So he can't just create heart attacks or shred starship parts automatically, and LE can tell when most telekinetics are trying to internally harm murder victims, as telltale as a bullet.
Pushing the powered down air/raft over the cliff or telekinetically tossing a crowbar into the MHD turbine should be eminently doable assuming the psi is in LOS. Seeing inside the body, not happening.
For those who want a middle ground of such things being possible but not widespread, there is the option of requiring both the talent to 'see' and the ability to affect.
For fine bodily surgery/assassination, I would require the combination of Telekinesis and Awareness.
For undetectable sabotage I would require Telekinesis and Clairvoyance- even in LOS of the device to be sabotaged, as the telekinetic has to be able to 'see' into the machine to do damage effectively.
For memory wiping, has to be both Telekinesis and Telepathy (so the right brain cells with the memory can be identified and purged without turning the subject into a vegetable- which would have implications for hardcore Zhodani 'reprogramming' techniques and limited personnel).
The advantage of this approach is that the OP's horror show can happen, but it will be relatively rare to have the 'right' combination of abilities, and more rare to have more then one set possible.
That, and the need to use BOTH talents is very draining and will likely mean the psionic will have to be very close- limited range.
So he can't just create heart attacks or shred starship parts automatically, and LE can tell when most telekinetics are trying to internally harm murder victims, as telltale as a bullet.
Pushing the powered down air/raft over the cliff or telekinetically tossing a crowbar into the MHD turbine should be eminently doable assuming the psi is in LOS. Seeing inside the body, not happening.
For those who want a middle ground of such things being possible but not widespread, there is the option of requiring both the talent to 'see' and the ability to affect.
For fine bodily surgery/assassination, I would require the combination of Telekinesis and Awareness.
For undetectable sabotage I would require Telekinesis and Clairvoyance- even in LOS of the device to be sabotaged, as the telekinetic has to be able to 'see' into the machine to do damage effectively.
For memory wiping, has to be both Telekinesis and Telepathy (so the right brain cells with the memory can be identified and purged without turning the subject into a vegetable- which would have implications for hardcore Zhodani 'reprogramming' techniques and limited personnel).
The advantage of this approach is that the OP's horror show can happen, but it will be relatively rare to have the 'right' combination of abilities, and more rare to have more then one set possible.
That, and the need to use BOTH talents is very draining and will likely mean the psionic will have to be very close- limited range.
kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Don't recall it, but that's not to say the verbiage isn't there.
<shrug> just an idea/option, take or ignore as you will.
The approach I've taken to psionics or racial abilities in sci-fi goes as follows:
If an ability (psionic or otherwise) can be replicated with a piece of equipment or in some other way, then it's not overpowered (at least in terms of game balance in the rules). For example, a psionic attack could be as powerful as a gun without causing problems with game balance because an equivalent effect can be achieved by a character with a gun. The Psi attack has the advantage in that it's intrinsic to a character but it isn't necessarily a major balance issue. At the more extreme end, if your psi abilities start looking like a high level D&D wizard then they are probably going to cause issues with game balance.
Read surface thoughts isn't intrinsically overpowered as the Referee can have the target thinking about anything (i.e. it's unreliable). It's really up to the ref to decide if it imparts anything useful, or just what the NPC had for lunch. Other abilities such clairvoyance may be possible to replicate with sensors that can see through walls (to some extent at least). Effects equivalent to a Jedi mind trick could be achieved by a character with advanced crap artistry skills - and so forth.
Similar analysis could be applied to various other Psi abilities, and the exact nature is really a function of what Psi powers you want and how ubiquitous you want them to be. If you wanted to set a game in a 'verse with a more Telzey Amberdon flavour then you might have more Psi talented NPCs. If an ability is something that can't be replicated - for example teleportation in a 'verse that doesn't have matter transport devices - then it has potential balance problems and should be looked at carefully.
If an ability is a thing in your 'verse then you should think in terms of mooks having some defence against it. For example, in a setting where telepaths are somewhat common then folks might routinely issue psi shield helmets ("Got yer tinfoil hats on boys?"). Maybe some folks might have a Kwisatz Haderach style ability to not appear in clairvoyance. Maybe the party could come up against psi-talented adversaries.
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kilemall
SOC-14 5K
Another way I handle it is that there IS no Psionics Institute, Jedi Knight/Sith one stop develop all psionics skill organization, but rather one skill type per organization.
Finding each organization that has 'the secrets' and then getting the training is a quest/adventure for each.
Finding each organization that has 'the secrets' and then getting the training is a quest/adventure for each.
Depends how much of a munchkin they are, I suppose. I mean overpowered in terms of game balance - is it too hard to Ref a party or character that has this ability. Also, it really would depend on the 'verse. If you wanted to do something like Telzey Amberdon, where the Psi talents are a central premise of the story, then you could probably go to town on the capabilities a bit more safely. You could have a greater prevalence of Psi-talented NPCs, both antagonists and third parties, and mooks, government institutions and other parties would be more routinely equipped to deal with it.
By using clairvoyance to see inside the body and the medic skills to recognize the target points. That's as shooting the aorta where it meets the heart when the victim is being done an angiography (but without the bulky machine disturbing).
(NOTE: I quote this post in representation of all the likewise ones too)
One thing I have thought since I posted this is, does clairvoyance allow to see in the dark?
One thing that most of us (begining with myself) seem to have forgotten when talking about those uses of psionics (use clairvoyance to see your target inside the body, and then afect it with telekinesis) is that the inside of the body is dark.
You need some light source to perform any endoscopy, or you wouldn't see anything. So, unless clairvoyance allows you to see in darkness (something not said anywhere, AFAIK), all those psionic uses would not be posible...
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Psionic clairvoyance may be using the x-ray or gamma ray part of the ems - it may well use dark radiation ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_radiation ) for all we know, or it may involve perception via the psionic dimensions.
You could also have a certain mutual exclusivity about this. The notion reminds me a little of cults in Runequest, which play the role of character classes. A character essentially has to belong to a cult (or is substantially disadvantaged if they don't). The cult provides training in certain skills an magical abilities. If you made the psionics societies into something like this (Think: Ixians, Mentats or Bene Geserit from Dune) then a character would have to specialise through association with the society.
As an alternative, MTU is set in a pre-3I era around the collapse of the rule of man, which predates the Psionics Institute by a couple of millenia. In this setting I have psionics viewed as quackery, and subjected to derogatory terms like 'Spoon Benders.' There is no organised study at all (except perhaps the odd shady black ops program); you would have to find a talented mentor that was willing to teach you.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Going back to the idea that psionic is no more powerful than technology I agree - but it depends on how much high TL augmentation or high TL toys you allow the PCs.
Telepathy - subdermal communicator, brain activity scanner
Clairvoyance - microdrone network
Awareness - auto drug injector
Telekinesis - limpet grav drones, repulsor/tractor beams
Teleportation - personal jump drive
Ok, some of them may be a teeny weeny bit beyond Imperial TL
Telepathy - subdermal communicator, brain activity scanner
Clairvoyance - microdrone network
Awareness - auto drug injector
Telekinesis - limpet grav drones, repulsor/tractor beams
Teleportation - personal jump drive
Ok, some of them may be a teeny weeny bit beyond Imperial TL
