psionicly ignorant [Archive] - Wizards Community

psionicly ignorant [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
magestar
05-30-07, 11:26 AM Hi everyone. So, I have an idea for a character in a campaign world where psionics are present, but are rare. The character in question is mildly psionic but does not *know* she is such. If anything, she chalks it up to having really good instincts or something along these lines. So, my question is: what class would this caharcter be, as from what I've read so far in the handbook, she doesn't seem to fit into any category. please help!:)
Tempest Stormwind
05-30-07, 11:35 AM Hi everyone. So, I have an idea for a character in a campaign world where psionics are present, but are rare. The character in question is mildly psionic but does not *know* she is such. If anything, she chalks it up to having really good instincts or something along these lines. So, my question is: what class would this caharcter be, as from what I've read so far in the handbook, she doesn't seem to fit into any category. please help!:)

Whichever you feel like.

However, this is kind of silly, since manifesting a power is an active event, similar to casting a spell. A sorcerer who doesn't know she's a sorcerer can't cast spells, since they involve active thought on casting. Likewise for manifesting powers.
DracoPhoenix
05-30-07, 11:42 AM Hi everyone. So, I have an idea for a character in a campaign world where psionics are present, but are rare. The character in question is mildly psionic but does not *know* she is such. If anything, she chalks it up to having really good instincts or something along these lines. So, my question is: what class would this caharcter be, as from what I've read so far in the handbook, she doesn't seem to fit into any category. please help!:)

Telepath or Seer - with a % chance to mainfest a power in a given encounter (suggestion in a social encounter when he really needs it to happen, precog, offensive in combat etc)

Initially, the DM could handle the casting in secret, with the player slowly gaining control of what powers & when.
EvilIdiot
05-30-07, 11:53 AM You could be a seer, or, better, a wilder with a seer-like power selection: you get visions and augmented senses whenever your sub-conscious sense something yourself should consciously perceive.

However, as TS said, it is really difficult to build a character like that.
I'd go with wilder-seer-like, asking the DM if you can add seer's discipline to your power list, since, IIRC, most of clairvoyance powers are from her list
Sarlax
05-30-07, 12:05 PM As a DM, I'd have no problem allowing this character concept. It would work best if your power were non-combat related. So long as you're not taking initiative count actions to manifest, it would be easy to say that your character treats knowledge that comes from Clairvoyant Sense or Read Thoughts as simple intuition.

But if you want mechanics...

The Book of Eldritch Might III has a feat called Subliminal Spellcasting. It allows casters to take 10 times longer to cast (so most spells are 60 seconds) but to do so in subtle fashion that escapes detection. The feat was possessed by every member of a village, each of which was also unknowingly a sorcerer. Since they all had this feat, they didn't even know they were casting spells to get their way.

Here are two feats I made a while back that might be useful if your GM permits them. Just say that their effects occur unconsciously.

Psychic Suggestion [Psionic]
You can use subtle psychic power to manipulate another’s mind.
Prerequisite: Int 15, 5 ranks Bluff, 5 ranks Diplomacy.
Benefit: This feat applies to the following skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, and Intimidate. When you use these skills, you may choose to do so through psionic means rather than by speaking or body language. The action type is unchanged; skills that require a standard action still require a standard action. This is a supernatural, mind-affecting ability. When using this ability, only one creature may be targeted at a time. Creatures affected by this ability do not hear voices in their heads; their moods or perceptions simply shift.

Psychic Speech [Psionic]
Prerequisite: Int 15, 5 ranks Bluff, 5 ranks Diplomacy, Psychic Suggestion
Benefit: You may telepathically communicate with a single creature within 20 feet as if speaking aloud to him or her. You must share a common language with the creature. You may only communicate in this manner with one creature at a time.
Salla
05-30-07, 12:07 PM Whichever you feel like.

However, this is kind of silly, since manifesting a power is an active event, similar to casting a spell. A sorcerer who doesn't know she's a sorcerer can't cast spells, since they involve active thought on casting. Likewise for manifesting powers.

On the other hand, the sorcerer must, at some point, generate a spell without consciously doing so because it's innate power ... unless they somehow know of their draconic/celestial/fiendish/whatever heritage.

Typically, however, this occurs during the backstory segment of character creation ... the character discovers the psionic or magical potential via strange happenings (poltergeist activity, visions, hearing someone's question before it is asked). By the time the character has his or her first class level, he or she has at least learned the basics, whether via self-training or being discovered by a Jedi Kni ... er, mentor. :)

One way you *could* do this, I think, would be to select mostly powers without visible displays (no blasties, for example), and though you, the player, would be in control of when and how the powers manifest, the character would not be. So, in game terms, your character is expending a standard action to manifest Detect Psionics, in character terms, he's spaced out for a few seconds, then "Hey ... why's that guy glowing?"

You might want to forego, in most cases, manifesting defensively, since that's a definite indication of a directed attempt.

I'd recommend doing this no longer than one or two levels, though. One, it strains suspension of disbelief (which does have limits, even in D&D), and it may start to get very fatal. :)
munin
05-30-07, 12:08 PM Except for the soulknife, all the classes manifest, which as Tempest Stormwind says is pretty blatant. To be really subtle (in the "mildly psionic" vein), I'd say pick a non-psionic class and develop psionic abilities through feats. Feats like Aligned Attack, Deep Impact, Fell Shot, Focused Sunder, Ghost Attack, Inquisitor, Mental Leap, Psionic Body, Psionic Charge, Psionic Dodge, Psionic Fist, Psionic Shot, Psionic Weapon, Return Shot, Speed of Thought, Unavoidable Strike, Up the Walls, and Wounding Attack depend only on psionic focus, not on manifesting, so there's plenty of room there to develop psionic "abilities" whose source isn't really understood, even by the character who develops them.

She could take the Wild Talent feat which would allow her to gain psionic focus (expend to take 15 on Concentration checks) and take psionic feats. Or the Hidden Talent feat would also allow her to manifest one power. Pick something non-flashy, like empathy, know direction and location, or telempathic projection -- matter agitation might not be too bad and it's useful.

Edit: Most of the psionic feats above improve fighting ability. Another idea might be to develop psionic feats which allow you to improve non-psionic class features by expending psionic focus. A wizard who had taken Wild Talent could develop a feat that allows her to enlarge the range of a spell just by expending her psionic focus ("Focused Enlarge Spell"?) -- for the other metapsionic feats which require power points as well, just limit the number of times per day it can be used (3/day for 2pp, 2/day for 4pp, 1/day for 6pp?), or offset with ability burn (providing an "interesting choice (TM)"). A rogue could develop a feat that increases her sneak attack damage by one die when she expends, a cleric could expend focus to increase her turn level, etc.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
magestar 05-30-07, 11:26 AM	Hi everyone. So, I have an idea for a character in a campaign world where psionics are present, but are rare. The character in question is mildly psionic but does not know she is such. If anything, she chalks it up to having really good instincts or something along these lines. So, my question is: what class would this caharcter be, as from what I've read so far in the handbook, she doesn't seem to fit into any category. please help!:)
Tempest Stormwind 05-30-07, 11:35 AM	Hi everyone. So, I have an idea for a character in a campaign world where psionics are present, but are rare. The character in question is mildly psionic but does not know she is such. If anything, she chalks it up to having really good instincts or something along these lines. So, my question is: what class would this caharcter be, as from what I've read so far in the handbook, she doesn't seem to fit into any category. please help!:) Whichever you feel like. However, this is kind of silly, since manifesting a power is an active event, similar to casting a spell. A sorcerer who doesn't know she's a sorcerer can't cast spells, since they involve active thought on casting. Likewise for manifesting powers.
DracoPhoenix 05-30-07, 11:42 AM	Hi everyone. So, I have an idea for a character in a campaign world where psionics are present, but are rare. The character in question is mildly psionic but does not know she is such. If anything, she chalks it up to having really good instincts or something along these lines. So, my question is: what class would this caharcter be, as from what I've read so far in the handbook, she doesn't seem to fit into any category. please help!:) Telepath or Seer - with a % chance to mainfest a power in a given encounter (suggestion in a social encounter when he really needs it to happen, precog, offensive in combat etc) Initially, the DM could handle the casting in secret, with the player slowly gaining control of what powers & when.
EvilIdiot 05-30-07, 11:53 AM	You could be a seer, or, better, a wilder with a seer-like power selection: you get visions and augmented senses whenever your sub-conscious sense something yourself should consciously perceive. However, as TS said, it is really difficult to build a character like that. I'd go with wilder-seer-like, asking the DM if you can add seer's discipline to your power list, since, IIRC, most of clairvoyance powers are from her list
Sarlax 05-30-07, 12:05 PM	As a DM, I'd have no problem allowing this character concept. It would work best if your power were non-combat related. So long as you're not taking initiative count actions to manifest, it would be easy to say that your character treats knowledge that comes from Clairvoyant Sense or Read Thoughts as simple intuition. But if you want mechanics... The Book of Eldritch Might III has a feat called Subliminal Spellcasting. It allows casters to take 10 times longer to cast (so most spells are 60 seconds) but to do so in subtle fashion that escapes detection. The feat was possessed by every member of a village, each of which was also unknowingly a sorcerer. Since they all had this feat, they didn't even know they were casting spells to get their way. Here are two feats I made a while back that might be useful if your GM permits them. Just say that their effects occur unconsciously. Psychic Suggestion [Psionic] You can use subtle psychic power to manipulate another’s mind. Prerequisite: Int 15, 5 ranks Bluff, 5 ranks Diplomacy. Benefit: This feat applies to the following skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Disguise, Gather Information, Handle Animal, and Intimidate. When you use these skills, you may choose to do so through psionic means rather than by speaking or body language. The action type is unchanged; skills that require a standard action still require a standard action. This is a supernatural, mind-affecting ability. When using this ability, only one creature may be targeted at a time. Creatures affected by this ability do not hear voices in their heads; their moods or perceptions simply shift. Psychic Speech [Psionic] Prerequisite: Int 15, 5 ranks Bluff, 5 ranks Diplomacy, Psychic Suggestion Benefit: You may telepathically communicate with a single creature within 20 feet as if speaking aloud to him or her. You must share a common language with the creature. You may only communicate in this manner with one creature at a time.
Salla 05-30-07, 12:07 PM	Whichever you feel like. However, this is kind of silly, since manifesting a power is an active event, similar to casting a spell. A sorcerer who doesn't know she's a sorcerer can't cast spells, since they involve active thought on casting. Likewise for manifesting powers. On the other hand, the sorcerer must, at some point, generate a spell without consciously doing so because it's innate power ... unless they somehow know of their draconic/celestial/fiendish/whatever heritage. Typically, however, this occurs during the backstory segment of character creation ... the character discovers the psionic or magical potential via strange happenings (poltergeist activity, visions, hearing someone's question before it is asked). By the time the character has his or her first class level, he or she has at least learned the basics, whether via self-training or being discovered by a Jedi Kni ... er, mentor. :) One way you could do this, I think, would be to select mostly powers without visible displays (no blasties, for example), and though you, the player, would be in control of when and how the powers manifest, the character would not be. So, in game terms, your character is expending a standard action to manifest Detect Psionics, in character terms, he's spaced out for a few seconds, then "Hey ... why's that guy glowing?" You might want to forego, in most cases, manifesting defensively, since that's a definite indication of a directed attempt. I'd recommend doing this no longer than one or two levels, though. One, it strains suspension of disbelief (which does have limits, even in D&D), and it may start to get very fatal. :)
munin 05-30-07, 12:08 PM	Except for the soulknife, all the classes manifest, which as Tempest Stormwind says is pretty blatant. To be really subtle (in the "mildly psionic" vein), I'd say pick a non-psionic class and develop psionic abilities through feats. Feats like Aligned Attack, Deep Impact, Fell Shot, Focused Sunder, Ghost Attack, Inquisitor, Mental Leap, Psionic Body, Psionic Charge, Psionic Dodge, Psionic Fist, Psionic Shot, Psionic Weapon, Return Shot, Speed of Thought, Unavoidable Strike, Up the Walls, and Wounding Attack depend only on psionic focus, not on manifesting, so there's plenty of room there to develop psionic "abilities" whose source isn't really understood, even by the character who develops them. She could take the Wild Talent feat which would allow her to gain psionic focus (expend to take 15 on Concentration checks) and take psionic feats. Or the Hidden Talent feat would also allow her to manifest one power. Pick something non-flashy, like empathy, know direction and location, or telempathic projection -- matter agitation might not be too bad and it's useful. Edit: Most of the psionic feats above improve fighting ability. Another idea might be to develop psionic feats which allow you to improve non-psionic class features by expending psionic focus. A wizard who had taken Wild Talent could develop a feat that allows her to enlarge the range of a spell just by expending her psionic focus ("Focused Enlarge Spell"?) -- for the other metapsionic feats which require power points as well, just limit the number of times per day it can be used (3/day for 2pp, 2/day for 4pp, 1/day for 6pp?), or offset with ability burn (providing an "interesting choice (TM)"). A rogue could develop a feat that increases her sneak attack damage by one die when she expends, a cleric could expend focus to increase her turn level, etc.