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Wednesday, March 14, 2018

4 Psionics reflavors

For the longest time, I've tried to figure out how to make the psionics fit into the D&D worlds. My initial thoughts on why they don't fit were that not everyone could tell psionics and just regular old magic apart. And that's true, but it's also true for wizards and sorcerers, clerics and paladins, druids and rangers and other such combinations. But what I figured out is that common folk can't tell the difference between a lot of stuff anyway, so why should that be a problem? I like to explore new magic systems, which is why I support psionics in D&D.

May the... mind be with you?

In this article, I'll list four ways to flavor psionics so that they fit better into a fantasy setting. I always found the explanation of "mind over matter" and "it just comes from within" to not be good enough. What would be stopping anyone from becoming a psion if it comes from within? I don't like it, and thus I came up with four attempts at solutions:

  1. Lucid State (also referred to as Dreampower, of Waking Lucidity). You have gained the powers you now hold through special training performed inside of the dreams. Within the dreams, you have learned the techniques and practiced them long enough to know how to manifest them in real life. This is not something anyone could reach, because most people have "scripted dreams" - they are not lucid, they are not in control, they just do whatever their mind feels like doing.
  2. Simulationist (also referred to as Meta, Neo or whatever fits). You have opened your eyes and saw the truth that's hidden from the most. Your reality is just a mere simulation - be it a book where everything is just words, a song sung by a God, a video game realistic audio-visual projection processed on a superadvanced computing machine, or a campfire story told by a bunch of people around the fire until it goes away. You know the truth, and you can manipulate the reality, knowing you're just a character within story, gaining great powers because of it.
  3. Akashic Archivist. I went over this last time, so I'll be brief - you channel the knowledge of Akashic Archives into your mind. Sometimes it's incomprehensible, sometimes it's useless, but after all that comes the stuff you can use to your advantage. Secrets of the reality and such, perceived by the Allseer.
  4. Far Realms Magic (also known as You're a fhtagn, Harry). You peered into the Far Realms long enough, knowing just enough information for them to peer back at you. Now you are infected with their very own magic.
Bonus choice: Combine any or all of the above. Afterall, they are kinda compatible - why couldn't the world be a story told inside of a god's dream? What if the Akashic Archive is indeed a source of Far Realms magic?

I'm not gonna claim that any of these is a unique idea, but I hope listing them in here and in relation to psionics gives people some cool ideas. Do you have anything that should have been included in the list? Feel free to leave a comment!

Thank you for reading, and have a nice day!

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