The Origin of Psychic Manifestation. [Archive] - Wizards Community

The Origin of Psychic Manifestation. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
KRATOS_BLADE_of_SPARTA
08-08-07, 02:17 PM Greetings,

I am afraid I am somewhat at a loss of the Origin of Psychic Manifestation, does it come from the Psion, or from the Astral Plane? Which begs me to ask, what is the Astral Plane (in relation to Psionics)?

And finally, which Ability does a Psion use to manifest his Powers? Or do they differ from class to class?

I am sorry to be such a bother, but this is all new to me, and I only have access to the SRD until the weekend (when I get my hands on my brother's copy of XPHB).
Verenal
08-08-07, 02:25 PM SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psion.htm) should be enough to answer your question about manifesting ability (it's intelligence for psion, charisma for wilder and wisdom for psychic warrior.)

As for the origin of psionics. That's a bit more difficult, as it varies from campaign to campaign.

the relation between psions and astral plane however, is that some powers summon stuff from astral plane, and some powers let you go there for traveling purposes.
Bacris
08-08-07, 03:06 PM The default rule is that the manifestation comes from the energy of the psion himself.

Astral Constructs are drawn from ectoplasm on the Astral Plane, but the manifestation is still from the psion.

In relation to psionics, the Astral Plane is the same as anything else :) The only difference is the ectoplasm there that is used as a base substance for some manifestations (but not all).
InkBlot
08-08-07, 03:38 PM The astral plane is the realm of thought, so it makes sense that people who use the power of the mind would be able to tap into the astral plane more easily than others.

But the power definately originates from within. It comes from the mind of the psychic. The knowledge which some clairsentience powers grant may come from the akashic record (http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/akashic_records.htm) (possibly a metaphor for the sum of all thoughts floating around in the astral), or may come from residual psychic vibrations of people on the material plane.

Psionics, in D&D, sticks pretty close to it's source inspiration (here's a thread on the correlations (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=844786)). There are only a small handful few concepts which are unique to D&D-psionics. If you want to learn more about psychics, there are plenty (http://skepdic.com/psi.html) of resources (http://www.themystica.org/mystica/default.html) on the web. If you want to learn about the rules for playing a psychic in D&D, you can read the book (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/966660000), the New Player's and DM's Guide To Psionics (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=486266), and the SRD (http://systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionic.html).

edit: Ectoplasm (http://skepdic.com/ectoplasm.html), the matter psions draw from the astral for use with their powers, is literally thoughts made manifest. This is why it can take such a wide variety of forms, and has so many various properties. Ectoplasm is, in every sense, exactly what the psion imagines it to be.

This is also why ghosts are made of ectoplasm. When your body rots away, all that's left is the thoughts and soul - your ghost.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
KRATOS_BLADE_of_SPARTA 08-08-07, 02:17 PM	Greetings, I am afraid I am somewhat at a loss of the Origin of Psychic Manifestation, does it come from the Psion, or from the Astral Plane? Which begs me to ask, what is the Astral Plane (in relation to Psionics)? And finally, which Ability does a Psion use to manifest his Powers? Or do they differ from class to class? I am sorry to be such a bother, but this is all new to me, and I only have access to the SRD until the weekend (when I get my hands on my brother's copy of XPHB).
Verenal 08-08-07, 02:25 PM	SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/classes/psion.htm) should be enough to answer your question about manifesting ability (it's intelligence for psion, charisma for wilder and wisdom for psychic warrior.) As for the origin of psionics. That's a bit more difficult, as it varies from campaign to campaign. the relation between psions and astral plane however, is that some powers summon stuff from astral plane, and some powers let you go there for traveling purposes.
Bacris 08-08-07, 03:06 PM	The default rule is that the manifestation comes from the energy of the psion himself. Astral Constructs are drawn from ectoplasm on the Astral Plane, but the manifestation is still from the psion. In relation to psionics, the Astral Plane is the same as anything else :) The only difference is the ectoplasm there that is used as a base substance for some manifestations (but not all).
InkBlot 08-08-07, 03:38 PM	The astral plane is the realm of thought, so it makes sense that people who use the power of the mind would be able to tap into the astral plane more easily than others. But the power definately originates from within. It comes from the mind of the psychic. The knowledge which some clairsentience powers grant may come from the akashic record (http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/akashic_records.htm) (possibly a metaphor for the sum of all thoughts floating around in the astral), or may come from residual psychic vibrations of people on the material plane. Psionics, in D&D, sticks pretty close to it's source inspiration (here's a thread on the correlations (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=844786)). There are only a small handful few concepts which are unique to D&D-psionics. If you want to learn more about psychics, there are plenty (http://skepdic.com/psi.html) of resources (http://www.themystica.org/mystica/default.html) on the web. If you want to learn about the rules for playing a psychic in D&D, you can read the book (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=products/dndacc/966660000), the New Player's and DM's Guide To Psionics (http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=486266), and the SRD (http://systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/psionic.html). edit: Ectoplasm (http://skepdic.com/ectoplasm.html), the matter psions draw from the astral for use with their powers, is literally thoughts made manifest. This is why it can take such a wide variety of forms, and has so many various properties. Ectoplasm is, in every sense, exactly what the psion imagines it to be. This is also why ghosts are made of ectoplasm. When your body rots away, all that's left is the thoughts and soul - your ghost.