I looked at those too, and from what the SRD says, psionic items are Universal Items and not Wondrous Items. I'd love to hear what the official folks say.
That said, I imagine that an item that had both psionic powers & arcane powers combined would qualify as both a universal item & and a wondrous item, so would seem to fit the bill. One of my early draft items was an item like this, but it died when I took it to my rules lawyer for review. Dang rules lawyers knowing everything. Still, I'm glad to have him around.
Contributor
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I realize that this isn't always possible, but I would simply try to convert the item to an arcane version, especially since by default, psionics and magic are the same thing. Hell, even power crystals and pearls of power are supposed to work interchangeably by default. Not every magic item works just like the spell it's based on. Using a psionic power for inspiration and balance to make an item that works more like the power is a fine idea. But then just set the requirements as though it was built from the spell.
That is what I would do anyways.
You raise an excellent queston. One that the judges and I are actually discussing. Technically, psionic items are universal items and not wondrous items. But I know at least one of the judges wouldnt mind including them. Right now, I would presume that a universal item is NOT a wondrous item. But we'll update you.
This is RPG Superstar. You are expected to know the rules. Psionic items aren't even created with the "Create Wondrous Item" feat. And, in the SRD, they are not listed as wondrous items. Nitpicky, perhaps.
That said, the other two judges and I are conferring on this. Because, in reality, the Universal Item feat is essentially identical to Wondrous Item feat. I wouldnt be adverse to including them. But I would wait if I was you.
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Thanks for your feed back. I have two versions of the item made up just in case, but the psionic powers definitely fit better than the spells. So unless anyone knows what the arcane or divine equivalent of hostile empathic transfer is.... I was going to use vampiric touch but there may be a better choice.
Perhaps Erik will come in and illuminate this. I dont want to without his OK.
Wow! I thought that universal items were the psionic equivalent of wondrous items. After all they are basicly the same and psionic is in the SRD. How a word can make a whole difference...
I guess my submission is in limbo now. This news is painful. Ouch!
Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.
I think that under the psionics as magic rules (which I think are basic) a psionic and magic wondrous item are virtually identical seperated purely by dint of flavor.
It would depend on how the item was created.
I was wondering if psionic items using the Create Universal Item feat were going to be allowed. The psionic feat and the Craft Wonderous Item feat are basically verbatim so.... If anyone knows that would be a great help.
I don't know about that, but as someone who tried to get psionics articles into 'Dungeon' and 'Dragon' I can give you some friendly advice (I'm sure I read it somewhere on these messageboards or in the contest guidelines, too):
When it comes to prepared materials for the game, good game design, the best and most well-received ideas are those which are closest to the core D&D gaming experience or easily adaptable to it; and thus useful and appealing to the greatest number of gaming groups. Unless there's been a sea change very recently, I don't think most D&D campaigns use psionics. I'm sure it's possible to run a great campaign in a high-tech world or a no-magic world, but adventures which rely completely on a high-tech setting or so heavily on the assumption that there's no magic that they have to be totally overhauled to be useful to the average (swords n' sorcery) playing group are not going to be very popular. Therefore, as much as I love psionics and would want psionics in my campaign, I would probably steer clear. But, that's just one frustrated aspiring writer's opinion!
Cheers!
My original item concept was a tattoo. Looking through the rules, I figured more or less I’d be knocked out for making a Universal as opposed to a Wondrous, so I changed it to…something else, keeping the function the same. The upside is, I can keep the tattoo to myself whether I win or lose now.
I'm glad a judge weighed in, but my thinking on it was that this whole RPG Superstar arc is leading to a Gamemaster module (I believe this has been stated?) Also they have not yet introduced psionics into Golarion. This would lead me to think that they would not want to encourage psionic entries.
On the other hand, creativity is the point of the endeavor, and the two types are quite similar. I personally find the flavor difference strong, but have created psionic cloaks of resistance as well.
Chief Technical Officer
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I'm glad a judge weighed in, but my thinking on it was that this whole RPG Superstar arc is leading to a Gamemaster module (I believe this has been stated?)
The winner will get to write a GameMastery Module, but that doesn't have any bearing on the direction the wondrous item should take.
Still no verdict?
Dang. My dog is dead.
In the end we decided not to give a firm ruling. We posted our concern and that should be enough. We figured that if we gave clear instruction after the contest started that it would unfairly advantage late submissions. Someone else raised the issue and I chimed in, as I have done on other topics in other threads. Maybe that provided some guidance, but we didnt want to come out and give a ruling.
Thanks Clark. Your response is appreciated.