Psionics | dlsaga.com

Let’s take a look at psionics in AD&D, and find out why it is the best version of Dungeons & Dragons in this How to Play Advanced Dungeons & Dragons series. Buy the AD&D Players Handbook: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17003/players-handbook-1e?affiliate_id=50797

Time Stamps:

0:00 Intro
0:46 Preface
1:19 Psionic Possession
2:31 Psionic Ability/Strength
3:38 Psionic Powers
6:08 Psionic Combat
7:38 Recovery of Psionic Strength Points
8:04 Afterword
8:32 Outro

Transcript

Cold Open

I have never understood why so many people have an aversion to psionics.

Intro

Welcome to another DragonLance Saga episode. My name is Adam and today I am going to talk about Psionics in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. I would like to take a moment and thank the DLSaga members, and invite you to consider becoming a member by visiting the link in the description below. You can even pick up Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and Dragonlance gaming materials using my affiliate links. I am referencing the AD&D Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide for this information. If I leave anything out or misspeak, please leave a comment below!

Discussion

Preface

Psionics are employed by monsters but in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, I have rarely ever found a PC which employs them. It’s not even because they are forgotten about at character creation or rejected by the current milieu. No, It’s because players or DM’s think they’re too difficult to manage. I am here to present the opposite viewpoint. They are simple, and if your PC doesn’t have them, it’s a mute point anyway, but I really think that if monsters are going to have them, and they do, why shouldn’t we let the PC’s?

Psionic Possession

So how do you know if you possess psionic ability? It’s entirely up to your unmodified intelligence, wisdom, and charisma ability score and the roll of a percentile die. If you have any or all of the aforementioned abilities at 16 or higher at character creation, you may possess psionic ability. To find out the exact chance, you need to add up any potential modifiers, and roll a d100, rolling over the modifier. If you have no modifiers, a roll of 100 means you have psionic ability. But you may have modifiers as follows: For each point of intelligence over 16, add 2 ½ to the die roll. For each point of wisdom above 16 add 1 ½ to the die roll. And for each point of charisma over 16 add ½ to the die roll. Add up your totals and drop the fractions remaining.

So if you have an intelligence of 17, wisdom of 12 and charisma of 17, you would have a modifier of 3, meaning you would have to roll over a 97 on a percentile die. Make sense? So now that we have determined IF you possess psionic ability, let’s find out what it means.

Psionic Ability/Strength

The psionic ability points are determined after you have rolled for psionic possession. To do this roll a percentile dice and add 1 point for each unmodified point of intelligence, wisdom and charisma over 12. If 2 of your abilities are over 16, double the points, and if all three abilities are over 16, quadruple the points. This will leave you with a number between 1-172. This number is your total psionic strength. Your Psionic Strength is used for both attack and defense. Meaning that your total Psionic Ability is double your psionic strength. One-half of Psionic ability is attack strength, and one-half is defense strength, with a maximum of 344 points.

These strengths can be used in the employment of psionic powers or in attack and defense of psionic combat. Once you have determined to possess Psionic Ability, it cannot be removed shy of brain injury, but it may be enhanced through magical devices.

Psionic Powers

Now that you know your exact Psionic ability number, what can you do with it? Psionic powers include attack modes, defense modes, and disciplines, not entirely unlike magical powers. You determine the number of each by rolling percentage die. You may have up to 5 attack modes, 5 defense modes, and 6 disciplines. Specific Attack and defense modes are selected by choice, but disciplines are assigned at random. I will detail each of these modes and disciplines in a future video, for now, let’s have a brief overview. Each has a different cost which will also be detailed in the future.

Attack & Defense Modes

The five psionic attack modes are Psionic Blast, this wave of brain force is the only psionic attack which may affect non-psionic creatures. It is like stunning news to the mind. Mind Thrust is a stabbing attack to an individual. Ego Whip assails the target with inferiority and worthlessness or superiority and megalomania. Id Insinuation affects an area of creatures seeking to unloose their uncontrolled subconscious minds. And finally Psionic Crush is a massive assault on the neurons of a single target’s brain. The psionically endowed must always have Mind Blank which hides the mind from attack. They may also possess Thought Shield which cloaks the mind which hides one part of the mind then spreads to others. Mental Barrier is a carefully built thought repetition exposing only a small area of the mind. Intellect Fortress uses the ego and superego to stop attacks and finally Tower of Iron Will uses the superego to build an unassailable haven for the brain. Each of these attack and defense modes have separate point costs and attack or protection ranges.

Psionic Disciplines

You will need to roll on the psionic disciplines table to determine how many minor devotions or major sciences you know initially. You then roll on the minor or major tables to determine the exact discipline(s) you know. You may roll again after achieving 2 additional levels of experience, but you must learn minor devotions before major sciences. Again, these will be detailed in a future episode. The employment of these powers costs the equivalent of one psionic strength point for attack and defense.

Psionic Combat

When engaged in psionic combat, the creature involved cannot engage in any other activity. Combatants must select their defense and attack modes, and opponent if there are multiple ones. The creatures subtract the necessary costs from their Psionic Ability points pool and the DM will refer to the psionic vs. psionic in mental combat, psionic attack upon defenseless psionic, or psionic blast attack upon non-psionic creature matrices in the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide for the outcome of the simultaneous attacks and defenses. You compare the total psionic strength, attack mode, and defense mode for the final outcome. It only takes a single segment for a Psionic combat exchange to occur, with a total of 10 possible in a melee round. If attacked or distracted, the psionic attack is lost, but the defense remains.

Psionic creatures may extend the range of a discipline by working together, in addition to increasing psionic combat powers together in a series. This series progresses from the weakest individual to the strongest. All points of strength expended in attacking and defending are totalled separately, points lost due to the attack are added, and a new Total Psionic Strength is determined for each side. If you fall to 0 total psionic strength, any further damage is applied to hit points on a point for point basis.

Recovery of Psionic Strength Points

You may recover psionic strength points by refraining from using them. They are restored at a rate based on your individual activity from none during hard exertion to 24 points/ hour in sleep. Remember that your psionic strength point recovery is divided in half for your attack and defense points, as one or the other may be lower due to use or damage from combat.

Afterword

When it’s all put together, if you are psionically empowered you will have between 10-344 total psionic ability points, to use with up to 5 attack modes, 5 defense modes, and 6 disciplines. This provides you with a completely new way of manipulating other PC’s, NPC’s, creatures or monsters, and unlocks a whole new avenue of play that is accessible with only a small amount of effort on the DM and PC’s parts.

Outro

But that is all the time I have to talk about Psionics in AD&D. What do you think of psionics as optional rules? Do you wish there were more options AD&D 1e? And finally, have you ever played a character with psionic ability in AD&D? Leave a comment below.

I would like to take a moment and remind you to subscribe to this YouTube channel, ring the bell to get notified about upcoming videos and click the like button. This all goes to help other Dragonlance fans learn about this channel and its content. Thank you for watching, this has been Adam with DragonLance Saga and until next time, remember:

If it’s the Psychic Network, why do they need a phone number?