I'm talking Dreamscarred Press, of course. I own Psionics Unleashed, Psionics Expanded, and Psionics Augmented. I don't have too many mechanical issues with the books (though I can't allow players access to some of the abilities that make investigations really easy), and the classes themselves are well enough designed, but I don't like the whole psionic flavor. I can't put my finger on why, but I just can't get excited about it or feel like it really fits. I looked into the Rune Magic thing, but I dunno. So I'm looking for some ideas on what I could refluff psionics into in my campaign setting. I'm focusing on the classes, because I don't really plan on using the races. Here's some stuff about the setting I'm trying to fit this stuff into:
Games set in Thyressa focus on monster hunting and dealing with rogue mages. When arcane magic poured into the world, it greatly increased the power and number of monsters in the world. The best humanity seems able to do is keep the monsters at bay. The only reason people in Thyressa live as well as they do is because of the warriors to fight and die every day so that the average citizen can go about life without having to worry about some beast coming for them in the middle of the night. That’s where the player characters come in. Even in densely settled areas, it seems like the undead, lycanthropes, fae, and other monsters never stop turning up. When they do, skilled professionals like the player characters show up to end the threat they pose. They also handle those mages who abuse magic, because the skillset and experience level necessary is similar and they pose just as much a threat. In essence, the player characters are the ones who face death on a daily basis so that everyone else doesn't have to.
Mass production is a thing. Most of the clothing people wear came out of a factory, and the same applies to household and recreational goods. Canning and freezing have been mastered, and food can easily and cheaply be transported worldwide. Weapons are easily to make, but armor takes a bit longer because it has to be reasonably well fitted to the wearer. People generally have access to internal plumbing and electricity, though battery technology is very poor. We do have rotary phones, cameras (no motion pictures, though), and the printing press, and literacy is very common. Medical care is mostly administered by Experts or Alchemists.
Trains, fueled by alchemical engines, are ubiquitous for travel between cities. For travel within cities, bicycles and cable cars are dominant, though the horse is anywhere near obsolete. Alchemical engines are powerful, but they are also extremely dangerous, and a trained professional has to be present at all times during operation. Flight is even more dangerous, and only magic users can pull it off at the moment. We don’t have any passenger vehicles that can fly. Ships use alchemical engines.
Firearms exist, and are relatively common, but have not overtaken the bow or crossbow. This is because soldiers tend to fight in scattered formations to avoid offering an enticing target to magical artillery. Volley tactics are a militia thing, so the arquebus is a weapon of the militiaman, city guard, hunter, or rancher, while soldiers and guardsmen with sufficient training use bows or crossbows fitted with mechanical spanners, because these weapons make less noise, don’t throw smoke everywhere, and can be fired faster.
At the moment, I focus a lot on my analog of California, which is as Chinese as it is British (And I do portray being historically British as culturally different than being historically American. British rule isn't only a replacement for the fact that I lack a United States analog.) and used to be Spanish, and has a large Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese population, a historically important but small Persian community, and rising numbers of Indian, German, and Greek immigrants. Unfortunately bad things were done to the natives, and Puebla, Navajo, and Salish are the only tribes that haven't mostly died out.
Other major 3PP rules in use are Path of War, the Super Genius/Rogue Genius Talented Class line, and the Super Genius/Rogue Genius spell variants. I like Super Genius/Rogue Genius spell points, but I only use them if people know how.
Given this information, what kind of magic could I turn psionics into that would feel cool and fitting?
Well, if you hadn't gone and ** spoiler omitted **, Psionics could easily be reskinned as a form of 'Spirit Magic' or 'Medicine', with the inner reserves of psionic power being the individual's connection with (fill in the blank- the earth, the universe, mystery of the cosmos- whatever works). The spectrum of psionic classes and powers have many analogs to mystical or supernatural abilities from indigenous myths and legends, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch.
Oh, sorry. That was localized to the California analog. There are far more indigenous peoples back east, with my version of the Iroquois remaining unconquered by colonial powers and the Seminole and Commanche analogs being forces to reckon with. I will probably have some other relatively powerful tribes, but I'm still zeroed in on California (which controls the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, and Hawaii) and, to a lesser degree, New England. Also, the HNavajo are powerful.
And since, as you mentioned, only one type of magic is really common, then this 'alternative', rare option still works for the odd character who managed to learn to find his connection (or was born into the tradition).
I just don't get into the whole mind magic thing. I like the Occult Adventures take on that better.
]I just don't get into the whole mind magic thing.
Perhaps I can help here!
Psionics is "mind magic" of a sort, yes, but it might be more helpful to think of it in relation to its spiritual cousin - divine magic. In many ways, psionics and divine magic are fundamentally similar, especially in that both are will expressed through power. Divine magic expresses divine will; that is, the divine spellcaster makes a connection to a divine force or god and acts as a conduit and director for the will of that force or god, creating changes in the world around them. The relationship works both ways; the mortal provides direction, the god provides power. Without both, there is no divine spellcasting.
In psionics, the relationship is different. The mortal is the source of the will and the power, and the trappings of psionics provide the direction. Merely unleashing raw, unlimited power is a quick way to explode. No one likes exploding, so safeguards - both conscious and otherwise - are used to limit the expression of will that takes place to something safe for the mortal in question. They can even bestow their power upon others, and retract it if they see fit.
Gods create religions; psionicists establish collectives. Gods shape matter from energy; psionicists shape it from ectoplasm, which originates on the Astral, the Plane of Faith, through which all divine energy flows. Both have the power to imagine things that then happen. Both are unrestricted by many of the laws and mores that trap arcane casting.
The power is the same, but the expression, that's what makes them different.
]I just don't get into the whole mind magic thing.Perhaps I can help here!
Psionics is "mind magic" of a sort, yes, but it might be more helpful to think of it in relation to its spiritual cousin - divine magic. In many ways, psionics and divine magic are fundamentally similar, especially in that both are will expressed through power. Divine magic expresses divine will; that is, the divine spellcaster makes a connection to a divine force or god and acts as a conduit and director for the will of that force or god, creating changes in the world around them. The relationship works both ways; the mortal provides direction, the god provides power. Without both, there is no divine spellcasting.
In psionics, the relationship is different. The mortal is the source of the will and the power, and the trappings of psionics provide the direction. Merely unleashing raw, unlimited power is a quick way to explode. No one likes exploding, so safeguards - both conscious and otherwise - are used to limit the expression of will that takes place to something safe for the mortal in question. They can even bestow their power upon others, and retract it if they see fit.
Gods create religions; psionicists establish collectives. Gods shape matter from energy; psionicists shape it from ectoplasm, which originates on the Astral, the Plane of Faith, through which all divine energy flows. Both have the power to imagine things that then happen. Both are unrestricted by many of the laws and mores that trap arcane casting.
The power is the same, but the expression, that's what makes them different.
Going off of that concept, I think I got it. Psionics and Ki are the same concept, but it comes on a spectrum. At the lowest end of the spectrum, you have your Fighters. They have this sort of innate level of internal power that lets them do some things a normal person couldn't, such as take a lightning bolt to the chest without serious injury or wrestle a bear. They haven't really developed that internal power all that much, though. Further down the spectrum are your Gunslingers and Swashbucklers, who have developed it a bit more and have Panache and Grit, then you get to Barbarians, who use it to fuel their primal connection to the land (I use Talented Barbarian, which gives Barbarians a primal power resource pool and lets them choose their abilities. They can get rage, but don't have to.), and after that you hit Rogues and Monks with their ki (I use Talented Rogue and Monk, so any Rogue or Monk who wants ki can buy it.), which is a much more developed version of this power, then as you develop it even further you get into Psionics.
Just need to come up with a name for this power (Don't like Psionics as a name, and Ki is too specific to certain class functions), and a way of distinguishing different levels of mastery.
Names. Hm.
I can spitball some names real quick if that's what you need.
Based off the use of natural internal energy expressed through will, simply calling it Chakra Manipulation or something would work.
Masters of Chakra manipulation are Gurus. Would not know any lower level names though.
Perhaps "Mentalists" would be a more middle-ground type of name, based off the fact that they primarily use mental energy.
I'll keep thinkin'.
Wait. The gods got revolted against and killed by people. People now control their own fate. Some can do this better than others, and can transcend the physical. Like Clerics, but of the human condition These people may be rogues or monks with ki, or they may be mages like wizards but more new agey than scientific.
Psionics are the Frued to the Wizard Einstein, and if the Alchemist is the mad scientist, the Psion is the psycho therapist.
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I don't like how you put a space between "psycho" and "therapist". =p