Is there going to be a Psionics book?

[To Tha Moon!]

Hey Matt,

Is there going to be a Psionics book for the Traveller Update?

And if there is, can I send you some ideas? I've made a list similar to the list of Psionic Skill Summaries on pg. 115 of The Traveller Book, but also including skills from The New Era and Traveller4: Psionics Institutes, plus ideas from other works about Psionics. In addition to what I sent you in the past (which I can send again). I have it out all the way to Level 15 per that chart. I've been working on it for a number of years.

I shared it with Arthur (atpollard CotI Mod) when I was in his Play-by-Post and he liked it and we used it in-game.

I think it would be a nice way to update the Psionics rules for Traveller.

Could I send it over to you to look through?

Thanks for reading,

Kelly
aka Spinward Scout on CotI

 

[Reisender]

How about posting your ideas in the forum so others can share their thoughts?
Currently there is a discussion about Psionics Prevention Measure going on for example.
Or is Intellectual Property(IP) an issue?
As far as I can tell most authors for Mongoose Traveller have considered the content of previous publications for their appropriate work, e.g. Geir Laneskog.

 

[To Tha Moon!]

How about posting your ideas in the forum so others can share their thoughts?
Currently there is a discussion about Psionics Prevention Measure going on for example.
Or is Intellectual Property(IP) an issue?
As far as I can tell most authors for Mongoose Traveller have considered the content of previous publications for their appropriate work, e.g. Geir Laneskog.

If it's something they can publish, I don't want to post it without Matt's approval.

 

[To Tha Moon!]

Is Matt on here much anymore?

 

[AndrewW]

Is Matt on here much anymore?

Yes.

 

[Sigtrygg]

I think he reads every post.

 

[ottarrus]

To be 100% honest, I don't think there's enough material for a Psionic Book.
Psionics is supposed to be an optional element of Traveller... In the era of the LBBs psionics were nod to the 'Vulcan' and 'jedi' tropes that were all over sci-fi. Since then, there has been a couple of attempts [a folio for T20, a supplement for GT, a book called 'Psionic Institutes' for T4 which dealt mostly with the Psionic Suppressions] to expand on it but they never really got anywhere.
All you need to run psionics in a campaign is already in the basic Core Rules and if you need further 'Special' powers you can look at AoCS 1 and the chapter on the Zhodani.

 

[IanBruntlett]

To be 100% honest, I don't think there's enough material for a Psionic Book.

(Click Here) Mongoose Traveller, 1st Edition, has Book 4: Psion. It was available in hard copy but appears to only be available as a PDF.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Off the top of my head
Lensmen series, Odd John, the works of Julian May, Midwitch Cuckoos

I would get a psionics book, especially if it was usable to construct any of the above (ie not just Third Imperium)

 

[IanBruntlett]

Click here for GURPS Psionic Powers' webpage.

 

[To Tha Moon!]

To be 100% honest, I don't think there's enough material for a Psionic Book.

As I mentioned in my post, I've expanded out and included new stuff from the different versions of Traveller, plus ideas from elsewhere. It could work well with a lot of the ideas in Book 4: Psion.

 

[Sigtrygg]

My house rules for Julian May psionics would stretch to over a couple of dozen pages if every ability was explained and given an example.
Add rules for running psionic campaigns, psionics in different settings, rule variations by setting, a section on psionics in the Third Imperium, psionic institutes, psionics beyond the Third Imperium, Research Station Gamma, the Droyne, the Zhodani....

A three book box set sounds about right

 

[alex_greene]

To be 100% honest, I don't think there's enough material for a Psionic Book.
Psionics is supposed to be an optional element of Traveller... In the era of the LBBs psionics were nod to the 'Vulcan' and 'jedi' tropes that were all over sci-fi. Since then, there has been a couple of attempts [a folio for T20, a supplement for GT, a book called 'Psionic Institutes' for T4 which dealt mostly with the Psionic Suppressions] to expand on it but they never really got anywhere.
All you need to run psionics in a campaign is already in the basic Core Rules and if you need further 'Special' powers you can look at AoCS 1 and the chapter on the Zhodani.

There was enough material for Traveller. I submitted a book-length document many years ago.
Psionics is a part of many science fiction settings. There have been psionic references in Arthur C Clarke's, Isaac Asimov's, Niven's, and many other authors' settings. Star Trek, Doctor Who, many Gene Roddenberry and Gerry Anderson settings, and JMS' Babylon 5, featured psionics.
My MS included psionic technology which, in some form or another, has been incorporated into the core rulebook and CSC. I recognise bits and pieces of it here and here. There were alternative settings, origins, cultures, advanced technologies and so on.
It was a lot more advanced than the "bubble chair" in v 1's Book 4 Psion.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Star Trek and Star Wars did not invent sci-fi. Psionics was around long before them. Referees and players not comfortable with PSI characteristics in Traveller block them from use.

 

[alex_greene]

Star Trek and Star Wars did not invent sci-fi. Psionics was around long before them. Referees and players not comfortable with PSI characteristics in Traveller block them from use.

Not much room for characters who are into telepathy ... or empathy, compassion, philosophy, creativity, art ...

 

[alex_greene]

I quite fancied the idea of a Traveller book which did not contain one single weapon or combat mechanic. Not even fancy glowy plasma blades, or the "noble" knightly psionic order which wielded them.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

I use Mongoose Traveller as a generic game mechanic for any genre. Just swap out careers and life events to match a game's setting. Mongoose Traveller does most things already using just the drifter career and various tech levels.

 

[alex_greene]

You could create a bunch of psion careers. Or you could add psi to existing careers, get your character psi-tested and trained in psion school (and yes, I incorporated that into my psion book MS), and swap out one of your Survival. Advancement or Commission DMs each term for Psi DM if that DM was bigger, but with the risk of getting caught. Also, I swapped out the mishaps, events, and Life Events tables for tables which had more emphasis on the gonzo weirdness of "less conventional lives."

 

[To Tha Moon!]

My house rules for Julian May psionics would stretch to over a couple of dozen pages if every ability was explained and given an example.
Add rules for running psionic campaigns, psionics in different settings, rule variations by setting, a section on psionics in the Third Imperium, psionic institutes, psionics beyond the Third Imperium, Research Station Gamma, the Droyne, the Zhodani....

A three book box set sounds about right

I was working on r/Metapsychics for a while for Marvel Super Heroes, but no one tried any of it. I thought MSH would work great for Julian May's Metapsychics,.

Would love to see your work.

And yours too, Alex.

I wish Matt would respond yes or no so I know if I can post mine up here.

 

[MongooseMatt]

I wish Matt would respond yes or no so I know if I can post mine up here.

Sorry, I missed that - we have a Psion book on our 'list of things to do' but it is likely to be quite some time before we can take as proper look at it.