Psion question

[rust]

By the way, if you are interested in some inspiration for how the Psi Corp
could be organized and operate, how it could treat its previous members
without killing them, and all that, you could take a look at SORAG, an old
Classic Traveller supplement which describes a Zhodani secret service
operating outside the Consulate. I once used it for an article on a similar
secret service for the White Dwarf (when it still was the White Dwarf ...),
it is really useful - and at a price of 3,- USD for the PDF there is no high
risk that I am wrong:

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=78437&filters=0_0_40050_0

 

[Hopeless]

I have one player who is playing a Psion out of the sell-named book. He rolled it up at the table with all the other guy's and said the rules allowed his character to join an institute at the age of 16, prior to his "traveller career".
He started out as Zondani, but then fled into an underground group to finish off his character. I am pretty familiar with the Psion career in the core book, but I just got the new Psion Book. Over the weekend I tried to look up the "age of 16 thing" without luck, but I did find the statement "prior to a Traveller career". You can learn a talent every 4 month etc...
Anyway, I was wondering if there were people who knew more about the specific Psion Rules than I do, and if it sounds like he's doing it correctly. We start the "official" game next week. At what age do you start "in school" for psions? Psionic Harry Potter anyone!?"
Thanks for any input!

In the game I'm still trying to get running I have one psion character and I'm not really a fan of the rules as set in the pocket handbook at some point I hope to pick up the psion supplement but so far I'm thinking that in future I simply state the player select one psion ability and slect another class with the precursor they can swap out one skill per tour so they have a better list of skills rather than being able to access any of the psion abilities but lacking the power to really be able to use them.

Still until I can run the game I'm hesitant to mess around but in regards to the above I had the character start at age 12 because the setting is such that thats when they would have their apprenticeship since things are so tought that they don't have the luxury of being able to leave such things until they're 18!

At age 18 before he starts his tours he'd just have the basic skills thanks to his education bonus and planet specific skills.

In T20 I've seen someone pull off telepathic abilities but forget that he needs the feats to back up those abilities so does his character match what can be generated?

Contacts with his fellow PCs might cover some of his extra talents and there's a career book on drive thru rpg which might be of interest since that has a new event generation chart which looks better than the one in the handbook.

What's his character like?

Saying his Zhodani might explain why he's psionic it wouldn't explain how he continued his training if he's on the run from them especially as the Empire would also be hunting him if they found out about him.

Hope that helps

 

[Liam Devlin]

A Zhodani refugee, age 16, by way of an Institute, eh?

Sounds like an emigre's son from Esalain (0204) C565673-8 Z Ag Ga A G/ Jewell, a planet where Imperial and Zhodani have lived together since the 4th Frontier war... Amber Zone from heck! The one open port where Zho and Imp can meet and do trade...

Makes an ideal homeworld for the character without too much implausibility/ hand-waviums...

The Esalain Institute takes both native local Imps and Zhos... now--GETTING off the planet and not being "nudged" by either the Consulate of Imperial Naval Intelligence to work for them...almost impossible.

Traveller go safe, & be armed,

Liam Devlin

 

[TC]

Age 14 is from Belters, and could be seen as any sort of apprenticeship early start.

Strictly speaking by the rules, that whole before tours thing is a misnomer. What it means is Psi-whatever IS your first carrer, and if you stay with the various paths thats your carrer.

This keeps your PSI from dropping amoung other things, nothing stopping you from doing one tour PSI and then going into something else, like Rouge etc. Finding a Psi Institute is possible through Char-gen, and the rules are well spelled out for the Johnny come lately Psi.

 

[SSWarlock]

Age 14 is from Belters, and could be seen as any sort of apprenticeship early start.

Are you referring to Mongoose's Adventure 1: Beltstrike or the CT-based BeltStrike boxed set published by GDW?

 

[alex_greene]

Sounds like an emigre's son from Esalain (0204) C565673-8 Z Ag Ga A G/ Jewell, a planet where Imperial and Zhodani have lived together since the 4th Frontier war... Amber Zone from heck! The one open port where Zho and Imp can meet and do trade...

Esalin! The Checkpoint Charlie of the Third Imperium. A garden world - a veritable paradise, where "nobody goes hungry on Esalin."

Oh, the number of times I've run the old "prisoner exchange" scenario there. An old bridge over a ravine ... two ground cars pull up on either side. Grim-looking agents emerge from the vehicles, both dressed in black, the Zhos majestic and swarthy in their tailor-made suits, the bulky Imperials in their straining suits just looking like bulldogs licking lemon juice off a stinging nettle.

The cars disgorge prisoners, jumpsuits, shaven heads, manacles, anklets. Their chains are unlocked, and they are shoved across the bridge. As they pass each other, they give one another a glance.

"We keep bumping into each other like this," the Zho says. "They are starting to talk."
"Perhaps they're expecting a happy announcement by the end of the month," the Impy says.
The Zho chuckles.
"See you again, next year," says the Impy.

 

[TC]

If memory serves, it's in both, the original and the MGT one.