| From: | "S. Keith Graham" <vapspcx@***.GATECH.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Re: Psionic powers, initiation.. |
| Date: | Wed, 13 Jul 1994 23:33:35 -0400 |
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What if Psionics tap the power of the astral, focus it through
their own brain/body, and send that power *IN AN ENTIRELY PHYSICAL
FORM* elsewhere. i.e. there's astral activity (maybe), but
they don't create spells, etc. on the astral plane. Its just
a power source. (How does this tie into Earthdawn, etc?)
They don't ever go to the Astral plane, perception, etc.
So no "Astral Protection" squads will help vs. a psionic. But
Psionics will never be able to do Astral Scouting, fight dual
natured beasts on the astral, etc.
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TK is through creation of "gravity waves"; Mind powers through
Electro-magnetic effects on other people's heads, etc.
All psionics are therefore subject to square and cube of distance
laws. (i.e range is a pain.)
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Now that's just me, but I think that making them very different
is good. (Using very magic like game mechanics is also very good,
as it maintains game balance.) For example, making them specialize
(more skills to pick from), but giving them more flexibility in that
skill (no spells to learn) makes them much more "specialist firestarters
(or whatever)" than mages (who might be "combat but dabble in illusion
with a good solid healing spell".)
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Psionics, being purely into the focusing of the mind, can install
cyberware and bioware. Only headware and things effecting the nervous
system reduce Psionic ability. (Specifically, all significant reaction
boosting cyber/bioware.) Headware counts double against reducing
Psionic Rating. You can use some psionic powers in the net. But
even the jack hurts.
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Initiation should give you abilites like the Rohan in the Anne McCaffery
books (_To Ride Pegasus_, etc.) You can do things like link up 4 or
(hundreds of) telepaths to add to your own strength. Doing so against
their will is, ahm, much more difficult. :-)
It should be able to reduce range penalties, possibly through Centering.
It should add to some measure of your power.
It should let you hide/protect yourself from Lesser Psionics.
It should require amounts of karma, with many of the same options of
karma reduction (joining a group which is "psionically aligned together",
and rituals, etc.) Instead of a thesis, you have a "brainprint".
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There should be a mechanism for creating a "Jedi Knight". Some other
abilities, but basically a "Psionic Physical Adept".
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Psionics that perform ritual style attacks do so by scanning for the
actual brain wave pattern of a person. This is a difficult process,
especially in crowds. Its based on the distance, plus a "static factor"
based on the number of people in the radius attempted. (i.e. 100 miles
in Montana might be 1000 people. 10 miles in L.A. might be a million.)
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I'll go look up what powers they list in "To Ride Pegasus". They've
got "precog", TK, teleportation, healing, mind reading/detection,
mental coercion at the least. And they categorized them, and created
an organization to recruit them. (And then breed them, and ...)
Julian May also has very well defined psionics in the Pliocene books
that we might should check.
Other good fictional sources?
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None of these ideas are required to implement the others.
Comments on any of them?
Keith Graham
vapspcx@***.gatech.edu
