psionic variants

[flykiller]

They have superior numbers and force to bring to bear.

it'll be a straight-up confrontation?

 

[mike wightman]

Imperial equipment used againt the Zhodani is psi-shielded as standard.

 

[nobby-w]

[ . . . ]
Variant 2

Psionics is a recent, poorly understood development.

There are plenty of quack psychics, phony parapsychologists, fake gurus, etc. out there looking to rip people off.
There are also cults looking for new members and dangling the (almost certainly fraudulent) promise of psi-training as bait.
[ . . . ]

I do Variant 2 IMTU, which is set some 2,000 years before the Psionics Suppressions anyway. In this setting, Psionics are mostly viewed as quacks or charlatans and generally disbelieved. Powerful, trained Psi sensitives are quite rare, although folks with a rudimentary talent that they've taught themselves to use are a bit more common.

The (somewhat derogatory) colloquial term used is 'Spoon Benders.'

Psi shield helmets aren't really a thing IMTU, with occasional exceptions of prototypes built on an ad-hoc basis. One set of NPCs working for an organisation that employed Psi sensitives and made prototypes would refer to Psi Shields as 'Tinfoil Hats.'

 

[Garyius2003]

Imperial equipment used againt the Zhodani is psi-shielded as standard.

Which source book/version had that? Steve Jackson put out some books with a lot of deep thought on the game world, was it them?

 

[BwapTED]

it'll be a straight-up confrontation?

That depends on what the Ref wants.

I did imagine something like direct military action against the PEDs.

The 'Psionics Suppressions' in this variant would have been pretty thorough, something like the Butlerian Jihad in Dune, perhaps.
So any forbidden tech, or in this case, psi, would need to be kept quiet.

 

[mike wightman]

Which source book/version had that? Steve Jackson put out some books with a lot of deep thought on the game world, was it them?

JTAS 9 is the earliest mention:

Psionic shielding is built into many
large installations and military or scout
bases where secrecy is required. Military
ships, vacc suits, and armor generally
have psionic shield circuits built into
them to prevent enemy telepaths
picking up battle strategy during combat.
The shield circuitry for ships and
buildings is considered a prime target
for enemy saboteurs and is heavily
guarded during times of crisis.

 

[BwapTED]

According to JTAS #09, p.30, personal Psionic Shield Helmets are TL12. Which means they theoretically could have been around since the founding of the Third Imperium. They became a popular item of fashion during the Psionic Suppressions in the 800's, but something of an embarrassment afterward. During the 5th Frontier War, they once again saw a rise in popularity in the Spinward Marches.

That looks like errata or a retcon to fit the OTU, maybe.
(Tweaks and rules adjustments needed to be made to fit the growing in-house campaign setting, so please don't read my comment as hipster gamer disdain for a later product. Not much later, in any case! )


Book 3, 1977, lists them as TL 8.

I find the lower TL anti-psi helmet interesting, as it suggests psionics could have been developed at about the same time , on some worlds, as early gravitic tech (the air/raft) and before Jump drive. Not necessarily before the discovery of the existence of Jump Space, though.
Or maybe it was psi that helped people discover Jump Space?

The technical and scientific developments in various worlds, species, and civilizations need not follow the Book 3 tables exactly, of course.

JTAS 9

That makes sense. If I were running an OTU game, I'd very likely use this.


Nobby--
''Tinfoil hats'' and ''spoon-benders''! Sounds fun.