Psionics assumptions...right or wrong?

[scurry]

I think I really like the Psionics in T20, but I am not sure if I am doing them right in my game. Can someone review these assumptions and steer me straight?

1) Someone with the Psi Training feat as a starting character begins at normal starting age with Psionics.

2) If someone takes the Psi Training at a later date or pays for the training somehow, they age a little and this is NOT considered a "term" in prior history...or is it?

3) Once spheres are determined, the spheres are treated as class skills for a character forever. As you reach ranks in the spheres, you can spend a feat for a given talent. E.g., if you have awareness 1, you can spend a feat for suspended animation. Right?

4) The PSI score isn't rolled until someone is trained or uses a feat to gain PSI ability.

5) PSI can be increased as a normal ability as a function of level? E.g., at 4th level you can increase PSI by one, right or wrong?

How rare is psionics? Is it frightfully common in most settings or not?

 

[notagoodusername]

Originally posted by scurry:

1) Someone with the Psi Training feat as a starting character begins at normal starting age with Psionics.

Yep, at a straight 3d6 (no age modifers), as long as it is taken at first level. A point to note is that if the character is human and takes the "Natural Talent" Feat as the level 1 human bonus feat they will get +2 onto this roll as well (see the Feat description for details).

2) If someone takes the Psi Training at a later date or pays for the training somehow, they age a little and this is NOT considered a "term" in prior history...or is it?

Correct, it is not a term. In character creation it is a Feta choice like any other, and in play terms are irrelevant.

3) Once spheres are determined, the spheres are treated as class skills for a character forever. As you reach ranks in the spheres, you can spend a feat for a given talent. E.g., if you have awareness 1, you can spend a feat for suspended animation. Right?

Once the spheres are determined they are treated as *cross-class* skills (THB p188, first paragraph under "Sphere Development" in the right hand column). Otherwise you are correct.

4) The PSI score isn't rolled until someone is trained or uses a feat to gain PSI ability.

Correct.

5) PSI can be increased as a normal ability as a function of level? E.g., at 4th level you can increase PSI by one, right or wrong?

Although not explicitly stated it does state on the Experience Levels table on THB p35 that the ability increase can be applied to any ability of the player's choice. I would be warya bout a player increasing it much above 18, though...

6) How rare is psionics? Is it frightfully common in most settings or not?

In the OTU it is uncommon in the Imperium (as it is illegal), though there are Psionics Institutes on most major worlds (note that these 'Institutes' are underground groups). Even if only 0.0000000001% of the population of the Imperium is Psionic, that would be a large number of people over whole 11,000 worlds.

The more likely limited is access to training. 3d6 averages 11, so anyone below 62 should have some Psi ability (no matter how low), but most don't have the opportunity to develop it.

The Zhodani, however, are a very Psionics-based society.

Hope this helps...

Shane

 

[R_Kane]

5) PSI can be increased as a normal ability as a function of level? E.g., at 4th level you can increase PSI by one, right or wrong?

Although not explicitly stated it does state on the Experience Levels table on THB p35 that the ability increase can be applied to any ability of the player's choice. I would be warya bout a player increasing it much above 18, though...

I could swear that I read somewhere that ability increase could not be used on PSI...but I don't have my book with me at the moment, so I can't verify that...I may be mistaken

-Roger

 

[notagoodusername]

Originally posted by R_Kane:
5) PSI can be increased as a normal ability as a function of level? E.g., at 4th level you can increase PSI by one, right or wrong?

Although not explicitly stated it does state on the Experience Levels table on THB p35 that the ability increase can be applied to any ability of the player's choice. I would be warya bout a player increasing it much above 18, though...

I could swear that I read somewhere that ability increase could not be used on PSI...but I don't have my book with me at the moment, so I can't verify that...I may be mistaken

-Roger

Gah! Correct! THB p188, left hand column, in italics - "Note: PSI is not an ability score. A character's PSI score cannot be improved except throught he use of psi-enhancing drugs."

Thanks for pulling me up on that Roger.

Sorry for the confusion Scurry.

Shane

 

[bthomps]

Regarding Sphere skills as 'class' or 'cross-class'. I'm having a hard time getting a handle on this one. A 20th level character has spent a maxiumum of 23 skill points on any given skill, meaning they could reach 23 ranks in a class skill, or 11 ranks in a cross-class skill. If you are a Natural Talent, you could get (at most) 13 ranks in your chosen sphere.

That doesn't mesh with the rules for Teleportation, which indicates you need 15 ranks to teleport with heavy gear. The same goes for Telekinesis of more than 100 kg.

This indicates to me either that the rules for psionics were changed during playtesting and not everything got updated, PCs are not capable of performing these feats, or a later expansion will fill in the gaps (with an alien racial ability, a psionicist prestige class, or something).

Any idea which one is correct?

 

[PapaGolfWhiskey]

Easy. Take the feat Hobby. this is a much more appropriate use of the feat than an academic trying to tell me "My hobby is GUNNERY"

then even a tenth level character can have a skill of 13...(10+3) if it also happens to be his natural sphere (+2) then he can even reach 15. (assuming he has a psi of 15)

 

[PapaGolfWhiskey]

And yes that means being effective in the 'Really Cool!' psi abilities means giving up a heck of a lot of feats and no small number of skills. to which I say DAMN RIGHT.

 

[MJD]

We plan to present a psionicist prestige class - possibly of more than one type.

 

[Liam Devlin]

Originally posted by MJD:
We plan to present a psionicist prestige class - possibly of more than one type.

___________________________
To which I say...........YUS!

 

[matrix cypher]

WOOHOO WOOHOO
(does happy dance)

Originally posted by MJD:
We plan to present a psionicist prestige class - possibly of more than one type.

 

[scurry]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my psionics questions. While I know a lot of people are quite fond of d20 Psionics, I for one loathe them. I just don't find that the Psionics Handbook fits with most d20 settings. On the other hand, I really like the psionics in T20 and may modify them slightly for inclusion in other campaigns that I run.

My only gripe at the moment is treating Spheres as cross-classed skills. Naturally, I looked for a way around it. I tried the professional class...but that doesn't work because of the types of skills it relates too. Then I thought of the Zhodani - maybe if characters choose Zhodani, they can choose a Homeworld skill of a sphere...the problem there is that the choice is made prior to being psionically active.

Does it have to be that way? What do you all think of having Zhodani use their 1st level feat for psionically trained?

Does this make sense (I am still a relative newbie to Traveller and to T20)?

 

[tjoneslo]

Were I running a Zhodani Campagin, I'd make a Zhodani Noble class with the Natural Talent Feat and Psionic traning as first level class features, with the restrictions you can't multiclass into the Zho Noble class (like the Barbarian). The Spheres would become Class skills for the Zho Noble.

The Zhodani Itenerants would take Psi Trained as their first level feat. Proles, not having enough Psi strength to be trained, are not allowed to take either Natural Talent nor Psi Trained. Otherwise Nobles, Itenerants and Proles can use any class they like.

 

[PapaGolfWhiskey]

This came up with the ONE friend of mine who I alllowed to take the book and Generate a character on his own. He had limited D&D experience and NO traveller knowledge. (well some.)

He nearly threw the book out the window. I told him to log on here and post his concerns because as long time traveller nut I didn't notice the things he was complaining about.

for example. The Zhodani are a rival empire to the Imperium. They are, for a comparison, COLD War Soviet Bloc to The Imperium's US. From the imperial perspective they are a society of noble Wit...er Psionics (WITCH!! BURN THE WITCH!!) who keep the people on their knees with the dreaded 'thought police'. To play a Zhodani in the main game environment (Imperium) is to be playing a spy or fugitive.

This actually worked for my buddy who was trying to reconcile his terms as a noble with his 'Che Guevarre' interpretation of the Traveller Class.

to get an idea of what the Zhodani are like I sugest you get your hands on one of the OOP alien modules or on the GURPS Alien Races book that has them. There's a not of rules light fluff on the Zhondani that would help you clarify your design.

 

[bthomps]

Originally posted by Garf:
Easy. Take the feat Hobby.

Doh! Of course. I agree that Psi ought to be hard, just not impossible.

 

[GBoyett]

Originally posted by MJD:
We plan to present a psionicist prestige class - possibly of more than one type.

Sweat!

Will this be in a sourcebook or PDF offering?

 

[Liam Devlin]

probably a TA or sourcebook supplement, unless my SWAG* is really off. (Scientific Wild Arsed Guess), GAB.
Of course, I've been wrong before with me SWAG!

 

[GBoyett]

Originally posted by Liam Devlin:
probably a TA or sourcebook supplement, unless my SWAG* is really off. (Scientific Wild Arsed Guess), GAB.
Of course, I've been wrong before with me SWAG!

Is that like your Mojo?

 

[Liam Devlin]

My SWAG and My "mojo" as you put it, GAB are two seperate things!

 

[Stormraven]

The only issue I've had so far with Psionics is the purely random nature of PSI strength. Okay, it fits with the purely random nature of all the Characteristics, but it's NOT a characteristic.

What I'll likely do in MTU (assuming I ever run) is base initial PSI strength on an average of Con, Wis and Cha. This subsumes nicely the three main elements of PSI strength in fiction. Physical Endurance, Willpower and Presence.

Of course, that would be PSI strength at age 18. I'd still weaken it for every Term past that by 1, until it's trained. Further, changes in any of the three characteristics wouldn't affect PSI strength afterwards.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[notagoodusername]

Originally posted by Stormraven:
The only issue I've had so far with Psionics is the purely random nature of PSI strength. Okay, it fits with the purely random nature of all the Characteristics, but it's NOT a characteristic.

Psionics are supposed to be something apart fromt he norm, sort of a random genetic 'accident' that eventually breeds true (the Zhos). Linking to an attributte can take that away.

What I'll likely do in MTU (assuming I ever run) is base initial PSI strength on an average of Con, Wis and Cha.

That said, linking to those attributtes give people who want to play a psion a way to develop thier character so they can get baetter at psionics.

As a middle ground, how about the average of WIS, CHA and a normal stat roll at time of test? I drop Int as it drives the skill points used to spend on it, so a high INT will make you better anyhow.

What do you think?

Shane