I played a Psion in the D&D encounters last night and I didn't feel like a controller, I felt like a weak ranged striker. Of course I was playing the pregen character because I really wanted to play a dwarven resilient battlemind, but you can't build one with the Character Builder yet.
So far the only thing that feels like Psionics to me is the augmenting. I can't stand the term that is all over the book, "psionic magic". In every place you would normally see psionics, you see "psionic magic" that just rubs me the wrong way, probably because it's just very non-Dark Sun centric. Psionics are NOT magic.
What about the mindscape? With no mechanics to back it up the mind scape of 2e Dark Sun is relegated to a role playing device. Anyone have any ideas on some mechanics to help it out? Perhaps a feat that lets you "open their mind", once a Psionic user invades your mind with a will attack that gives them +1 to further attacks until they make a will save?
What about the mindscape? With no mechanics to back it up the mind scape of 2e Dark Sun is relegated to a role playing device. Anyone have any ideas on some mechanics to help it out?
Back when we had mechanics for mind-battles, my group preferred to skip the mechanics and just degenerated the game into a battle of wits. At one point in a 2e mindscape battle a Tree defeated a Cloud by "sucking".
If they (WotC) left 4e w/o mindscape battle rules, then just play it by ear ... yes, a flower petal can fly like an F-35, and the ground can rise up like the tide or anything else ... we drew alot of inspiration from Calvinball. Consider the shark that eats the fish, being eaten by the whale. Then along comes Captain Ahab, who is constrained by the mental apparition of obsession, rending him inable to respond to any other attacks. Ahab loses, but who else could catch the whale? Maybe Hancock ... or possibly a Klingon Bird-of-Prey ... no ... a giant squid.
roll for damage (D). consider the power points (P) the target has total, assign an appropriate fraction based on the power you deem the idea(I), have the player use dice with MAX equal to that fraction. when comabatant's P=0, they wake up with hangover, are knocked unconscious, whatever.
They kept the power point aspect of Psionics...
I'm kind of bleh on that, honestly. I hate tracking numbers. Having to track HP is bad enough, I don't want to add another trackable. Do they give alternative options?
I can't stand the term that is all over the book, "psionic magic". In every place you would normally see psionics, you see "psionic magic" that just rubs me the wrong way, probably because it's just very non-Dark Sun centric.
Heh...I actually can't stand the term "psionic", because it feels more sci-fi than fantasy. But, yeah, "psionic magic"? Doesn't really roll trippingly off the tongue, or indicate that they are not the same thing...unless that's one of the changes to DS?
What about the mindscape? With no mechanics to back it up the mind scape of 2e Dark Sun is relegated to a role playing device. Anyone have any ideas on some mechanics to help it out?
Perhaps a Skill Challenge-like mechanic would work in this situation?
They kept the power point aspect of Psionics...
I'm kind of bleh on that, honestly. I hate tracking numbers. Having to track HP is bad enough, I don't want to add another trackable. Do they give alternative options?I can't stand the term that is all over the book, "psionic magic". In every place you would normally see psionics, you see "psionic magic" that just rubs me the wrong way, probably because it's just very non-Dark Sun centric.
Heh...I actually can't stand the term "psionic", because it feels more sci-fi than fantasy. But, yeah, "psionic magic"? Doesn't really roll trippingly off the tongue, or indicate that they are not the same thing...unless that's one of the changes to DS?What about the mindscape? With no mechanics to back it up the mind scape of 2e Dark Sun is relegated to a role playing device. Anyone have any ideas on some mechanics to help it out?
Perhaps a Skill Challenge-like mechanic would work in this situation?
JimsMaher: Some of the imagery of the mindscapes can be ridiculous, as you described with great humor. I like the idea of breaking through the characters mental fortitude and have better access to their mind. I think that system is a bit complicated and needs too much tracking/math for 4e.
Greyorm: No, there's no alternative to the Power Point system. But you don't get a lot of power points,even at high level I don't think it'd be too disruptive.
I agree, Psionic, is pretty sci-fi. I doubt they're gonna change the names of a class just to match with flavor. That's something we'll have to do in our own campaigns. So...what do we call them?
I remember in the pentad and many other sources mindbender was pretty favored. Practitioner of the Way. I like the new Battlemand psionic defender, it's got a way better name than Psychic Warrior.
Even the Will and the Way referred to The Way as... "the study of the psionic sciences"
A skill challenge might work.
They kept the power point aspect of Psionics...
I'm kind of bleh on that, honestly. I hate tracking numbers. Having to track HP is bad enough, I don't want to add another trackable. Do they give alternative options?
I don't think there alternative systems provided, but I havn't had the chance to comb through the whole book. You only get a few power points though, and they refresh with a Short Rest, just like your encounter powers. Basically, they exist as a slightly more flexible way of doing Encounter powers for psions.
No idea why they didn't call the primal power source Primal Magic, though.
For example, "Well, the nobleman that told me to do stuff and I couldn't stop myself is probably a psion, since I'll get in trouble for saying he's a wizard. The crazy old guy that came to town and told us to do funny stuff to the crops was probably a wizard, since the templar had to blow him up, and the templar must be in good with the spirits since he blows up anyone that threatens the crops we grow for the sorcerer king's army," when really the nobleman is a psion, the crazy old man is an elemental priest, and the templar is a defiler.
Although not in Dark Sun, my Paladin would have said he was a martial character if you explained the power sources to him. When you ask about his devotion to Kord, "well, Kord just blesses me because I'm so good at killing stuff in his name." He then would have assumed that the wizard was a divine powered character, since he's really into the Raven Queen. The wizard would know better and would be able to tell that my paladin has been reworked as a fighter|paladin, but that doesn't mean that anyone else in the party would (although everyone but my paladin would probably be able to have it explained to them eventually).
Just because we know something about the D&D world does not mean the characters understand it in the slightest.
Just because we know something about the D&D world does not mean the characters understand it in the slightest.
This bit of wisdom is quotable.
