What Psionic Talents (Advanced and Basic) for OTU/Third Imp

[Nerhesi]

Just considering letting a player create a Psion in my OTU game. The basic abilities of course, but which of the advanced talents would be kosher in an OTU game?

Obviously I know not to consider Temporal/Dimensional stuff.. probably Ship Integration is a no as well. Advice?

 

[F33D]

Just considering letting a player create a Psion in my OTU game. The basic abilities of course, but which of the advanced talents would be kosher in an OTU game?

Obviously I know not to consider Temporal/Dimensional stuff.. probably Ship Integration is a no as well. Advice?

Totally depends on how far you want you game to go towards a Fantasy setting vs. a Science Fiction setting. If you want to minimize "magic" probably stick with the less powerful Awareness talents.

 

[Boneguard]

I would keep to low ESP/Awareness stuff as well as Low Telekinisis stuff. It is what modern Psionicist (claim they) can perfom.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

I don't limit what player characters can do with psionics beyond what the rules limit.

 

[locarno24]

If you're trying to fit in the OTU then the core rulebook ones are best. As noted, telepathy is by far the most common and widely known* (if not exactly accepted), with telekenisis and teleportation just after. Awareness is also common but hard to distinguish from 'just being good at stuff'.

The PSION talents - things like ship integration, tapping, time distortion, etc, don't really appear in the OTU, or at least those bits out the OTU outside the remit of "Wierd-Ass Ancient Technology That Goes Whomm When You Poke It (TM)".

They're good to throw in to make someone go 'what the hell' but less something you'd expect a player to have.

*The Zhodani are the biggest driver in this, of course.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I disagree with the last poster. I think that several of the Advanced PSION talents would fit well within the OTU setting.

ZHODANI would definitely be interested in developing the Ship Integration talents.

Remember, those advanced talents are going to be VERY RARE, but I would have a tendancy to allow any of them.

But remember, if your character has them, so do other people...

 

[F33D]

Remember, those advanced talents are going to be VERY RARE, but I would have a tendency to allow any of them.

But remember, if your character has them, so do other people...

Well put. And, herein lies the conundrum for the GM. If the players (who exist in every game session & encounter) almost never have to deal with others of similar power level, it gets unbalanced.

If the players encounter psionics often, it is now common and not rare... It REALLY changes the game. It isn't a minor change to the "game world".

 

[Nerhesi]

Thanks guys - I've decided to go with basic talents.

My research and conclusion were influenced by the Talents in the Zhodani book - as you can see, the zhodani do not have ship integration (they get machine symbiosis but that is nowhere close) and so on. So, for the OTU, apart from plot devices, it seems the lower end stuff is more appropriate.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

And, herein lies the conundrum for the GM. If the players (who exist in every game session & encounter) almost never have to deal with others of similar power level, it gets unbalanced.

How is that?

 

[F33D]

How is that?

If you have very intelligent players using PC's with high end powers and the adversaries almost never have them, you'll soon see exactly how.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

How is that?

If you have very intelligent players using PC's with high end powers and the adversaries almost never have them, you'll soon see exactly how.

The rules don't allow for high-end use though. MgT does a good job of balancing psionic skills.