The Bazaar #99: Core Rules System Chapter #6

(PSIONICS)

INTRODUCTION

Now that we’ve done the magic chapter, it’s time to do the “flip side” of the coin that is often used to explain the paranormal, magical, or the supernatural. While most RPGs go through a long series of hoops and page count to define and clarify how their magic system(s) works (Palladium Books is not so different), those that dive into the Psionics aspect of the game seem to go less in-depth. This isn’t necessarily much different with my review of the Palladium Books RPGs, as I found that the Psionics were largely limited to a few key IPs (Rifts, Beyond the Supernatural), the remainder largely pushed it to marginal cases.

In reality, that’s perfectly fine, it’s simply an aspect of game design; Palladium Fantasy is a magical realm, After the Bomb/TMNT are both about mutant animals and their particular abilities, Heroes Unlimited concentrates on superheroes (duh!). What it does mean though is that the rules for the psychic characters should be designed in a manner that provides the GM and Players with enough information to dovetail that character into the setting with little to no issue.

Note: The one big debate about this chapter is whether the inclusion of the Proximity Equals Power table, currently presented in Chapter 1 – Traversing the Megaverse, should be tacked in here. I can honestly see the value for either method, and I’m honestly leaning to moving the table here.

DISCUSSION

General. Much like Chapter 5 – Magic, a lot of this particular chapter came down to selection of the appropriate chunks of text and paring things down to provide GMs and Players the appropriate details to go on and play Psionic Characters and use Psionic Powers in their adventures. And to be honest, this one came as a surprising bit of a jumble; some games presented this in much better detail than others, and the transition from one to the other isn’t necessarily as smooth a dovetail as most would likely be searching for. So let’s go ahead and see what we can do about this.

Backward Compatibility. Just like Chapter 5 – Magic, we’re looking to make this as seamless as possible moving forward. Insofar as most Palladium RPGs that have psionic characters the Inner Strength Points system, they sometimes present their own powers lists in the primary RPG book and/or supplements (e.g. Beyond the Supernatural), which makes a centralized list of Psionic Powers difficult. That said, much like Chapter 5 – Magic, we’re not looking to change any of the RPG-specific psionic power categories or how they are developed. This is the baseline rules for how Psionic Characters develop and use their powers, and how these are affected from one setting to another (see The Bazaar #92 - Traversing the Megaverse), and how certain phenomena affect the Psionic PC. We apply several keywords to further define the powers and how they work. This sets us up for later Chapters.

Psionic Level. No real change, aside from some nuanced functional changes that I’ve applied to make Psionics carry more impact. If you recall, we did the same with Magic as well. While we all know the Psionic Level impacts the Save vs Psionic roll, what I’ve dubbed in the keyword index as an Action Challenge (Saving Throw), it has many more implications when we get to Chapter 7 – Combat.

Using Psionic Powers. Basically, mimics the Magic section to provide the same “look and feel” as they are effectively the flip side of the same coin. It provides a new Player with a baseline understanding of how psychic powers function.

Inner Strength Points. A quick and dirty section that provides the reference point for ISP Recovery and how the Player Character can recover based on certain states of meditation or sleep. Essentially mirrors the section in Magic, but for Psionics.

Example: Psionic Level 2 means that a Psi-Sword would roll a Critical Roll on a Natural 18+, not a Natural 20+.

Sources and Drawing ISP. To be sure, Magic has a much greater variety of sources to draw from. This section basically codifies the fact that Psychic Characters are a different breed from their Practitioner of Magic counterparts. While the mage has a SLEW of sources to draw PPE (both willing and unwilling), can possibly cast a VAST array of spells, and those spells can have terrifying effect, they are also much more susceptible to interference. The Psychic PC’s powers are typically single Action use-to-effect. This greater flexibility comes at a price, one of them being MUCH more restrictive on sources of drawing ISP.

Effects of Technology. Just like in Chapter 5 – Magic, we need to account for what occurs to the PC if there is any significant change to the character’s natural form. What does the inclusion of Bio-Systems, Minor Bionics/Cybernetics or perhaps a more major bionic conversion have on the Psionic Character's capabilities as a Psychic Class? Herein we define the effects on the PC’s Base ISP, ability to Draw ISP, effect on Magic/Psionic Healing, and what would any Bio-Regeneration have on implantation of technological devices. Some of these are just as traumatic to the psionic character as they are to the Practitioner of Magic.

Influence of Ley Lines. Something that is haphazardly provided throughout is the impact of Ley Lines of Psychics. I just codified a series of effects on the same table as the one found in Chapter 5 – Magic. Effectively, a Psionic PC has some significant bonuses being so close to the source of mystical power, but also comes with some particular negatives.

Ley Line Storms. Since we threw in a table for how Ley Line Storms affected the Mage PC, it seemed only natural we included one for the Psychic PC. Essentially all the same effects found at that table in Chapter 5 – Magic, plus several key factors that affect the Psychic PC. It’s not all bad, but I’d probably level that against what the GM is likely to look to throw against you as the Player. Most don’t necessarily come as a peaceful walk in the park.

CONCLUSION

So there have it, Chapter 6 – Psionics for the Core Rules System. A total of three pages in all, and really a counterpart to Chapter 5 – Magic. As a Psychic Character you’ve converted your PPE into ISP, and you expend it in one of several manners; typically expressed as psionic powers or as other natural Class Abilities. Much like the Magic chapter, brevity is the aim of the exercise. You get the baseline for what you need to run the Player Character, while the specific Palladium Books RPG provides the Class and the further delineation required to define how the Character expresses themselves in the adventure.

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