Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 mgbeach Apr 15, 2011 14:16:14	In the Prism Pentad, whenever there are Psionic attacks it is described in terms of a mental battle.  The attacker may take the form of some great beast, and the defender may raise a wall of flame or something.  Basically, just wondering if anyone has taken that kind of flavor and applied it to their Dark Sun campaigns whenever there are psionic battles going on.  Do you have the players describe what form their "psionic self" takes?
#2 Ozmodious Apr 15, 2011 22:39:30	in 2nd edition psionics worked different, of course, and they had defensive abilities and a multitude of different powers that attacked defenses and such like in the book. In the new Dark Sun you don't have this as detailed as it was in 2nd ed but you can think of it when they have resist psionic damage. I have done this during one encounter when I player said I am doing mind thrust and rolled his hit and then damge. I explained that as he tried to enter the creatures mind a great wall of sand pushed his attack from his mind and did very little damage. The player thought about it and on his second turn told me that he was going to use another power and have it formed as a tornado so if the wall of sand returned it would be blown apart. the resist was still in place but the player rolled better so more damage got through. I thought it added a little something to the game. Also there are some added rules in a dragon magazine article that deal with psionics that gives a little more depth to powers out there now like reading the victims mind and such when using powers instead of just dealing damage.
#3 DontEatRawHagis Apr 17, 2011 12:10:35	Do you have the players describe what form their "psionic self" takes?  I play most Psionic characters as if they are just telekinetic and what not. When I had to DM I had a Silt Runner summoning psionic grenades though.
#4 angelus_obscura Apr 17, 2011 18:26:02	I'm actually glad to see this thread, as it reminds me greatly of how psionics were treated in other mediums, specifically Marvel/DC comics. Psionic metahumans or mutants or whatever all have a psychic signature that identifies them to other psychics (and readers). ie Psylocke had a butterfly effect whenever she used her telepathy, Cable's left eye glowed whenever he used TK, and the Phoenix (both mother and daughter) had the bird symbol on their left side of the face whenever they used their powers. What you are describing with the D&D psionic battle mechanics represents a battle in the "astral plane", where psychics project their consciousness and battle each other in their "avatars". The Shadow King's astral form looked like a earless, hairless shadow creature with fangs, Psylocke looked like a samurai warrior, Xavier looked like a medieval knight, etc. I'm actually going to re-establish my psion's psi-signature (which I always made sure to suppress as she is very exotic looking: elan), even though she is a telekinetic. Most telekinetics have the same manifestations of power as it is direct application of force. Her manifestations are a mix of traditional TK and the one from Scott Pilgrim, with the "hair-lift, smoking eyes, and sonar-like waves". You know what, I should start a thread similar to my "31+ Flavors of Warlock" thread.
#5 mgbeach Apr 18, 2011 23:04:54	I went back and looked through my old Will and the Way and had completely forgotten that they addressed a whole chapter to this idea! sites.google.com/site/mgbeach/files/Ment...
#6 Alphastream Apr 19, 2011 23:49:06	As a DM I generally translate any psionic power into a description that has to do with the "mindscape". I might say "The templar stares deep into your eyes. Suddenly, in your mindscape, a horde of scarabs crawls from the ground. The horde races forward, devouring everything in its path." Then I roll the attack and might ask how they defend, then I explain the result. "As you raise a curtain of fire, some scarabs burst into flames... the others grow wings, flying over and deep into your mindscape. In the real world, blood flows from your eyes and nose. You take ten damage and are dazed until the end of the next turn." I have at times given a defense bonus for an especially good mental image. I forget the details, but there was one that was just perfect for the situation and the opponent.
#7 awaken_D_M_golem Apr 22, 2011 14:46:57	Plenty of monster attacks, are listed without a specific body part or weapon doing the attack. Easily can be mental-ish flavor. Any implement and ranged attack, can be conceived of as "astral" plane based. Any utility that effects a non-psionic non-mental plane type of PC, can be a Force protecting unformed psi images of the future self. etc
#8 siromega Apr 23, 2011 12:44:44	I saw this article and immediately thought of this thread. I plan on showing the Psion in our game this in case he wants to use it. It's Unearthed Arcana so it's not everyone's cup of tea... Link-tastic.
#9 mgbeach Apr 23, 2011 13:26:08	Oh. My. God. That is so awesome. Thanks for bringing that up! That just fits in so amazingly with some story stuff I was working on.  And how is something that uses this to illustrate it NOT going to be ridiculously killer?
#10 mgbeach Apr 23, 2011 20:41:30	This is really going to fit into my campaign so well.  I've continued on with some of the ideas introduced in Marauders, and integrated some cool ideas from the Dark Sun board here.  An ancient race created by Ul'Athra has resurfaced and is also looking for the parts of the Diadem of the Sands (what I've called the Crown of Dust in my campaign..although my players insist on calling it a tiara to annoy me :P) This ancient race is called the Ul'Athrids, and they are essentially Athasian mind flayers. The concept was created by Raddu76 in this thread. Here is an image I made of one the party fought: They are similar to mind flayers in that they devour humanoid brains, are highly psionic, and have something of a hive mind (although their shared consciousness comes via Ul'Athra and not a big brain in a swimming pool). They aren't fleshy, instead having hard, crablike carapaces. Their mouthparts are like king crab legs instead of tentacles, and some even bear powerful claws in place of one or both hands. At a couple of ancient sites of Ul'Athra worship, the party found tomes written in Primordial. The party's psion has been studying them, and I think it's a perfect opportunity to have the concept of the Awakened Psion introduced.  Thanks again for bringing this to everyone's attention.
#11 siromega Apr 24, 2011 18:54:55	Happy to help. I figure since DS is one of the less popular boards, we might as well all share concepts and ideas haha
#12 angelus_obscura Apr 25, 2011 0:03:33	Here's a picture of what I meant in my post earlier. It is from this month's issue and the page spread was just AWESOME! It's a battle in the mindscape between Psylocke and the Shadow King. (right click, view image for larger image)
#13 mgbeach Apr 25, 2011 2:06:15	That is epic! I might have to get back into that book. Haven't really read any comics consistently for years.