Psionics in the 3rd Imperium - Psion book or not?

[Nerhesi]

Got a question for those of you who have been playing Traveller longer than I... So I understand Psionics are not as prevalent in the 3rd imperium setting as they are, in say, Babylon 5.

But I'm curious as to, Cannon wise, which psionic powers do exist? Obviously the base book psionics, and the special psionics that appear in the Zhodani book would exist. What about the super expanded and much more powerful powers in the Psion book... did they exist in the previous Classic/Mega/T4/etc settings?

Basically, if i'm a purist, which psionic powers would I want to include in my 3rd imperium setting, which ones would I want to exclude? Thanks

 

[GypsyComet]

The Psion book includes several huge game changers. Time and paratime travel for starters. Avoid those.

Unless you are going to have multiple psions in a group, or really do want to do an allemande left and change the setting to suit, stick to the CRB stuff. You can explore the "ease of use" and subtalent variations in the Psion book, but both are slippery slopes.

 

[alex_greene]

In short, the consensus among the Traveller grogs is that the 3I is officially a psionics-poor setting, and deliberately designed as such Book 4 generally does not apply, and you should stick to the RAW in the core rulebook, etc etc.

Of course, they are not going to send the Tvarchedle' around to kick down your door at 03:00 for including parallel dimension travel and other assorted weirdness in your game, so feel free to use anything and everything in Book 4 and ignore their outraged screaming.

 

[dragoner]

In short, the consensus among the Traveller grogs is that the 3I is officially poor setting...

I'd say the grogs love it, it is their bread and butter; for the rest of us, not so much.

 

[alex_greene]

In short, the consensus among the Traveller grogs is that the 3I is officially poor setting...

I'd say the grogs love it, it is their bread and butter; for the rest of us, not so much.

LOOOL That's what happens when you strike "INSERT" by accident when editing, and it goes into overwrite mode.

Read the above as "the 3I is officially a psionics-poor setting ..."

 

[GypsyComet]

The official setting is not intended for Jedi Knights, Lensmen, Professor Xavier, or Gully Foyle, if that's what you mean. Psionics come from much lower power examples, and are intended to be additional tricks and tools, not superpowers.

Note that Jedi and Lensmen are easy to do, since both are basically using external power sources and ignoring the Teleport talent.

You can certainly decide that psionics are in fact easier than advertised, and only the broad culture of ignorance and their institutional use by "the enemy" (the Zhodani) keeps psionic users from becoming amazing. Up to you.

 

[dragoner]

In short, the consensus among the Traveller grogs is that the 3I is officially poor setting...

I'd say the grogs love it, it is their bread and butter; for the rest of us, not so much.

LOOOL That's what happens when you strike "INSERT" by accident when editing, and it goes into overwrite mode.

Read the above as "the 3I is officially a psionics-poor setting ..."

Ah, ok.

Yes, I agree that the casual setting is psionics poor.

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

Yes, the standard setting (3I) has limited psionics, and culture that fears and hates psionic powers, but, how much you want to allow is up to you as GM. If the Zhodani, or other psionic users, are going to feature much in your campaign, then the Psion book will give you ideas and suggestions, especially about rare talents and making powerful psions risk exposure to mental or physical weakness. The Zhodani book also has some interesting ideas for running a campaign where most, or all, characters are psionic.

On the other hand, the standard setting allows the option for anyone to have psionic powers, its just that most people are never tested or able to develop the skills. But the psionic skills are not game changing, though may give some PCs or NPCs an edge if used circumspectly and intelligently. The big "magical powers" approach is out of sympathy with the setting, a slug pistol is usually more use than a telekinetic punch.

Really, though, this is not about canon so much as YTU.

Egil

 

[Nerhesi]

Thanks for all the answers guys - much appreciated. It is funny that I am a relatively new player (just over a year), with a group (4 others) that have only been playing as long as I, and yet we seem to like 3I.

In fact, I'd say a key-factor in that attraction is the Fear of Psionic (despite half the group being psionic)! So I, being the GM, was curious as to what is considered kosher-3I psionic and what isnt?

We were operating by the assumption that Psion book is off-limits and only core/zhodani book powers would exist. However, I found myself wondering if there were any CT/MT/T4 examples of psionic that were way out there... and possibly inline with Book 4, that I could have made optionally available for my group.

Thank you!

 

[alex_greene]

Mostly Ancients stuff. Grandfather was capable of doing so many incredible things with just the power of his mind alone. There was a genetic monster in Secrets of The Ancients which was capable of learning a new skill in seconds, getting up to level-2 in a matter of an hour or so.

Your characters could encounter an Artifact which grants them each one of the advanced psionic abilities above and beyond what is described in the core rulebook, and that would make them a unique and very powerful resource, potentially very lucrative if the right people hear of what they are capable of doing.

 

[GypsyComet]

If the CT version of Droyne was any indication, there should be a few talents in the Mongoose Droyne book as well.

When it comes out.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Basically, if i'm a purist

You would follow the Classic and Traveller 5 rules then. If you're willing to give up all the stuff that came before Mongoose, and ignore Traveller 5 completely, then Mongoose Traveller and the 3rd Imperium is a reboot that is followed.

 

[AndrewW]

If the CT version of Droyne was any indication, there should be a few talents in the Mongoose Droyne book as well.

There is.

 

[Nerhesi]

Basically, if i'm a purist

You would follow the Classic and Traveller 5 rules then. If you're willing to give up all the stuff that came before Mongoose, and ignore Traveller 5 completely, then Mongoose Traveller and the 3rd Imperium is a reboot that is followed.

Hence the question, of which existed in CT (as I dont have all the books just the main book and book 2).

An I am talking about inclusion/exclusion of the powers. When it comes to rules, CT and Mongoose are close enough for me and I prefer mongoose; so I've just imported somethings such as improved evasion for ships. As for Traveller 5, the less said about that the better. Seriously.

 

[GypsyComet]

CT added to the psionic talents list in only a few places: the Zhodani and Droyne books, and a couple articles in JTAS. There may have been articles elsewhere, but for "purity" sake, the list is a short one. That said, CT was intended to be a big toolkit (like many early RPGs), so "purity" means only as much or as little as you want it to.

The edition police are not going show up and confiscate your books if you mix editions or use an article from some magazine that has been out of print for 20 years.

It is your game now.

Canon is for writers.

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

If the CT version of Droyne was any indication, there should be a few talents in the Mongoose Droyne book as well.

There is.

Great, but when is it actually going to come out, have been waiting years!

Egil

 

[AndrewW]

Great, but when is it actually going to come out, have been waiting years!

That is the question. I have no idea what the answer is though.

 

[Ewan]

If the CT version of Droyne was any indication, there should be a few talents in the Mongoose Droyne book as well.

There is.

Great, but when is it actually going to come out, have been waiting years!

Egil

If you check the Release Schedule http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/releaseschedule you will see that the PDF version is due out in May and the printed version in June.

 

[Meanderer]

If you check the Release Schedule http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/releaseschedule you will see that the PDF version is due out in May and the printed version in June.

And of course here we are in June and they are saying October.

Hoping it is worth all this waiting.