An 'Appeal to consequences'. That a RAI argument. I like to discuss RAW first and be very clear when I step beyond to RAI or house rules.
RAW the text:
"Telepaths are by far the most common among those with psionic potential. If a Traveller chooses Telepathy as their first talent, it will be gained automatically with no need to roll on the Psionic Training table."
"Per previous talent
acquisition check -1"
You might reasonably argue (imo) that the
acquisition check is automatically passed if Telepathy is the first talent checked. So the next acquisition check is at -1.
Imo this is a valid RAW reading, but so is the opposite. This
is ambiguous imo.
It's not ambiguous. The use of the word 'may' clearly means the character has a choice. It would be an odd choice imo, but it is one.
Possible counter to this RAI point: The initial Institute Training is a four month period - it always proceeds entering a Psionic career. A career is also a four year period. If you take a Psionic Career as your first, the four years of on-the-job training in your youth allows all the career's key psionic talents to unlock.
Back to RAW:
FYI there is an interesting section in the AoCS Vol 1 p 254
"Psionic Skills: Intendants and Nobles may develop talents over time as if they were normal skills. If they receive a talent they were not trained in or failed to gain during their initial psionic training, they may attempt again to gain that talent (all previous DMs apply, including the cumulative DM-1 per previous check). If a Traveller rolls the Talent skill choice, they may increase any psionic talent already possessed."
So in RAW the acquisition check penalty still applies to new checks. Let us see what this means.
- Character gets Psionic Testing: PSI 8 (DM 0)
- They attempt to learn all five psionic talents. This places them on a -5 DM to there next acquisition check.
- Later career give them another acquisition check - what does the character need to roll for:
- Telepathy: Roll 9+
- Clairvoyance: 10+
- Telekinesis: 11+
- Awareness: 12
- Teleportation: Impossible
- Further acquisition checks move the impossible zone up one place
My opinion of the Traveller Psionic rules, is that their are set up to be difficult. Making Psionics rare and limited. Even the powers themselves are 'mid'. What we have is a confused tease for players. It's 'Lucy and the Football'.