IRPS NEWSLETTER March 1, 1996 Issue #3 Table of Contents: Club Status Report (Michael Popovich ) Message From The Vice President (Craig Jannsen ) IRPS Monthly Newsletters Ragboy's Wild Kingdom (Paul Wolfe ) The Book of Genesis (Justin White ) ROLE-playing or RULE-playing (Lafe Bagley ) R U L E S & R O L L S (Eduard W. Lohmann ) Slight's Miscellanea (Steven Cox ) Classifieds ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Club Status Report (Michael Popovich ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRPS has finally filled up some of it's open officer and department head positions also, at this time, we have several more department head positions for anyone who would be interested in assuming those positions. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT --> Michael Popovich (cad@digital.net) Deparment of Web Resources --> Jacques Brunswick Deparment of Internal Activities --> OPEN (inquire if interested) Deparment of IRC Activities --> Thomas Charron (twolf@empire.net) Undernet: #IRPS --> James Adams (jmadams@primenet.com) Undernet: #AD&D --> Jesse Edes (leades@rapidramp.com) Undernet: #Shadowrun --> Adam Richard (adam@cosmos.ab.ca) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY --> Akilesh Deperalta (adep@loop.com) Department of Membership Management --> handled by Akilesh Department of Entertainment --> handled by Akilesh Subdepartment CCG --> handled by Akilesh Subdepartment RPG --> handled by Akilesh Subdepartment PBEMs --> handled by Akilesh As for all the deparment heads, under the office of the President, you will all need to contact Michael Popovich (cad@digital.net) cause I have things I need for you to do. Everyone in the department of the Secretary will report to Akilesh Deperalta (adep@loop.com). Also, if you have any ideas for a new department just e-mail Michael Popovich (cad@digital.net) with the name of the new department, the department's purpose, and any additional information. If you do come up with a good idea for a department, and if it is approved, be ready to take the job of Department Head and ready to write a short article about it, in search of members to help assist in that department. The club is also looking for new web pages to link to ours. If you find anything interesting out there in the vast tome of the internet just e-mail me with the site and I'll check it out. Also, if you think changes should be made to the web page e-mail me with the changes you have in mind and I'll be sure to alter the page if it's a good idea. Also, I have had a few inquiries about writing for the IRPS newsletter. If you're interested in writing for the newsletter, all you need to do is make sure the column/article, which you intend to write is kept to the subject of role-playing (any aspect ranging from prices of products, new ideas, new rules, and you're not limited to writing adventures for any one gaming system). As a writer, you'll retain all rights to your article and allow us to post it on the web page and send it out to members each month to read. If you're interested contact Michael Popovich (cad@digital.net) with your full name, e-mail address, column name, and also your first article for the newsletter. We look forward to hearing from you. Also, I would love to see more members become involved with the club. IRPS currently has an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel, on Efnet, Undernet, and Dalnet, entitled #IRPS. For those of you who haven't used IRC before, it's a program which allows users from all over the world to communicate with each other. It's a very fun program, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. There are also other interesting channels on the net which can be explored also such as #AD&D and #Shadowrun. If you're interested in using IRC go to the club web page, go to the IRPS homepage located at http://ddi.digital.net/~cad and look down at the Club Activities section. Just click on the hypertext entitled Internet Relay Chat, and you'll be transported to a site contain an IRC program for downloading. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message From The Vice President (Craig Jannsen ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Greeting fellow IRPS members! I thought I would pass on some news. Daili's Collectibles has been busy with a proposal to Wizards of the Coast for the TPO product line. I feel that my company has a chance and have been actively pursuing the product line. The TPO product line is a fantasy supplement line. This is one reason that I have not been around and slow to answer email. In other news: Daili's Collectibles is now selling MTG singles and has lists available for customers. The prices are based on Cloister's prices and will be modified based on condition. We have received some more used rpg items in from BattleTech and ADND product lines. I will be getting my lists updated asap. Please note: New RPG products are 30% off for IRPS members not 25% Feel free to stop by on Efnet IRC, my nickname is NetFlame. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ragboy's Wild Kingdom (Paul Wolfe ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Okay," says the DM, "It takes you four weeks to reach the cavern complex. Minus the appropriate rations." Does this sound like a the wilderness travel sequence in your campaign? Sacre bleu! If you've ever travelled overland for four weeks, especially on foot, you know this is the far from being realistic. The wilds of your campaign world should be as colorful as your cities and as dangerous as your firefights. But danger takes a different turn when a character is stuck in a month long road march, far from civilization. Danger as obvious as an animal attack and as sublime as drinking tainted water. An adventure could stem from a lame horse, or from a figure half-seen across a prairie at night. From sudden storms to infected wounds, the wilderness should offer more than an aside, or a paragraph. The wilds are a source of magical components, strange cultures, alien landscapes, and interesting encounters. So watch this space for interesting twists, some rules suggestions, and maybe an encounter or two with: Ragboy's Wild Kingdom... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Book of Genesis (Justin White ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Foundation of a World Many people I know have wanted to make their own fantasy world, myself included. Well, whether you are writing a novel based on the world, or starting an RPG based on the world, the first step is probably the EASIEST. So, where does one begin? That depends on the level of realism you want. When I made Varnaria, I wanted a whole world at my fingertips. Extensive culture, Extensive background, Extensive realism. Impossible? Never. I'll tell you, it was hard. And once you have gotten it down, it's harder to keep things straight. But how do you get such a realistic world? There are many different methods; 1) Write a novel/start the game and make it all up as you go along, marking all your ideas down when they come. This is the easiest method of World Creation. The players get to directly influence the world and there is no wasted effort if the GM/Author decides not to use a portion of the world that would have been developed using other methods. A GM could be easily caught off-guard if a player asks something that he hasn't decided upon. (What does the bar music sound like in this culture?) 2) Start making the world in perfect detail before you begin. This is VERY time consuming, but it creates a consistant world. If the campaign isn't very long, or you are not going to write a lot of novels, you run the risk of spending a lot of wasted energy into this. 3) Many more that I have yet to think about. I started using #1 when I started to write my first novel (which has taken two years to comlete!) I didn't think it worked because it was TOO malleable. I could do almost anything with it. I feel safe within boundries because if I do it without them, I'm liable to contradict myself. I did that once. In my PBeM, I told a player that he headed west from a swamp to a town in Eudoria. When I mapped the area later, I put the swamp to the wast of the Wixian country, which was south-east of Eudoria. So I stopped, and thought to myself. "Why don't I map this whole thing myself before I go much further?" I can tell you that, depending on how much of a world you want, mapping can be a tough procedure. I had a whole world in mind for Varnaria, but I barely got an area the size of the medetaranian sea done, or smaller. I had to find another method of mapping this. I wanted a map that was unique, but was aesthetically pleasing, and a map that I could incorparate the ideas that I already had down onto it. I found such a map at http://www.edu.isy.liu.se/~d91johol/fwmg.html this was a 'Fractal WorldMap Generator' When I ran the FWMG, I actually used the date of my fifteenth birthday as the random seed, and I came up with a map that was more than suitable. Since then, the page owner has added some features such as viewing the world in hemispheres, from the north pole, and from the south pole. That is a site that I would SINCERELY recommend for lazy people like myslef. Now that you have a map, you may want to think about where the world came from, how it got to be, ecostructures, cultures, races, people, towns et cetera. I'll leave detail on this 'till the next article. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ROLE-playing or RULE-playing (Lafe Bagley ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Don't you just hate it when you're in a new gaming group and you realize that everyone has a different style of playing? I think that the thing which bothers me most (even more than a no show) is inconsistant gaming style. You might think that's a tall order to fill. I don't. It only requires asking your players one question: "Are you a ROLE-player or a RULE-player?" Whatever their answer, you'll know who doesn't fit. Whether you have a brawler or a thinker, you'll all get along just great if you agree on one of the above styles of play. It doesn't even matter if you're using a complicated game system, it's what the focus of the game is on that matters. Personally, I am a role-player. I use to be a rules hound. I would shun any gaming system that didn't cover every possible contingency. Then after I was going on my 5th or so year of playing, it hit me. I was sick of rules, and what I enjoyed was getting into my character. Don't take that as a condemnation of complex games or of rules in general. It's just my choice. I realize that I am a teller of stories, and I prefer my game system to provide me the just the infrastructure for answers. I'll fill in the details--my imagination is far more complex than any chart, and a lot more satisfying. If you are a rules hound, play with other rules-hounds...there is an appreciation of a well-crafted system, no doubt. I still think of all those charts and formulas that, for some reason, I never had a problem memorizing. They don't take up too much space in my tiny brain...maybe I'll haul out my dice and roll a 20-die attack for old time's sake. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- R U L E S & R O L L S (Eduard W. Lohmann ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0.1 Introduction In response to the appearance of our advice column in the IRPS newsletter #2 we received the following question from Bruce Sheffer: "I would be very interested in seeing an article on how the different game resolution systems compare. How does a dicepool system compare to a traditional d20 or percentile system? What are each's strength and weaknesses? Which is more realistic? Which is easier to conceptualize? Where do they break down. Which is more appropriate for what kind of game." The following piece should answer most of his questions. Especially chapter 3 and 4. If you or anyone has any other questions regarding this piece or any other roleplaying matter send email to: Eduard Lohmann lohmann@fwi.uva.nl Barbara Haddad bhaddad@LunaCity.com If you are interested we could discuss different systems for deciding skill levels next time. But this subject is much less clear. Let us know. 0.2 Basic Terms The dice Notation. Many roleplaying and game systems use a similar dice notation. It is usually a whole number followed by a 'D' and then another whole number or a symbol. The first number represents the number of dice to be used. The 'D' simply means dice. If the third part is a number it represents the number of sides the dice used should have. Common dice are D4, D6, D8, D10, D20. So 2d4 would mean: use 2 dice, both of which have 4 sided numbered 1 to 4. If more than one die is used the results are added together. Sometimes a number is added or subtracted. The third part of the notation can also be a symbol. A '%' means percentile and 'D%' works the same way a 'D100' would. Except that the result is interpreted as a percentage. In this text the notation 'DF' is also used. This means FUDGE(c) dice. These dice are six-sided two sided marked +1, two sided marked 0 and two sided marked +1. Target Numbers A target number is a number you need to accomplish something when you are rolling dice. Skills This is any numeric representation of a character that represents its level of competence. Dice are often compared to it. Skills are used in this article for any trait that is compared to a diceroll. Open-ended Rolls These are dicerolls where some very good or very bad result make you roll another die to see just how good or bad you did at the moment. GM GM stand for Game Master, or the person who will be leading the gamingsession. 1.0 An Overview of much used Systems. Here we will describe a few basic systems that we will be referring to later on. We chose these systems because they represent a large part of practical roleplaying, except for the diceless system. All system are assumed to be skill based. 1.1 Single Die, Skill + Die Systems These are systems that let you roll a single die and add the result to a skill. The result is then compared to a target number, a level of difficulty or an opponents result. Maximum rolls are often seen as critical successes and minimum rolls as critical failures, but this is not always the case. Open ended rolls can be useful here. Dark Dungeon(c) is an excellent but little known example. 1.2 Single Die, Die <= Skill Systems These systems compare the roll of a single die to your skill. If your roll is not more than your skill you succeed. The difference can determine the degree of success or it can be a win/lose situation. Examples are attribute- and proficiency- checks in AD&D(R). (See http://www.ms.mff.cuni.cz/acad/webik/ ~pmit2218/adnd.html) 1.3 Multi Die, Skill + Dice Systems Here you add the result of several dice and add them to your skill. Just like the single die version you compare the result to a target number. Different target numbers could determine the degree of success. An example is DragonNet. (see dnet@cs.nmt.edu, http://www.cs.vu.nl/~wouterw/dnet/dnet.html ) 1.4 Multi Die, Dice <= Skill Systems Here you add the result of several dice and if the result is not more that your skill you have succeeded. Again the degree of success may depend on the degree of difference. A special case of this is that if your result equals your skill you have only a partial result. An well known example is GURPS(R). (See http://www.io.com/sjgames/gurps/) This also includes systems like Champion(R) (See http://www. intercom.net/user/theala/hero.html) where the skill is figured from several of the characters characteristics on the spot. 1.5 Dicepool Systems These systems let you roll several dice with the same number of faces, the number depending on your skill. Often you have some control over the number of dice rolled in that you can use dice from a limited pool and decide to use them in a particular role. Here you also need roll equal to or higher than a target number, but with this system you can have zero, one or more successes. For target numbers higher that the number of sides on the dies used, open ended roles are used. ShadowRun(R) is a well known example. (See http://www.hut.fi/~jalkanen/SR.html ) 1.6 The FUDGE System This is basically a Multi Die, Dice + Skill System, but there are a few special differences. First, skills and even rolls are presented as words in stead of numbers. Second the average skill and roll is zero. More on this later. (See http://users.aol.com/ghostgames/index.html ) 1.7 Percentile Systems These systems are usually the same as Single die <= Skill Systems. But they use a D% or D100. making use of the well- known concept of percentages. Often two D10 are used to simulate a D% by multiplying one by 10 then adding them and finally dividing by 100. Examples are RuneQuest(R) (See http: //boris.qub.ac.uk/ds/links/rpgpages/chaosium.html) and Stormbringer(R). 1.8 Diceless Systems These systems are considered as an alternative for dice. Success often depends on things like situation modifiers and roleplaying. Amber(R) is an example. (see http://www.ens-lyon.fr/~jcdubacq/amber.html) 2.0 Math Here we discuss the probabilistic properties of the aforementioned systems. In general the probability for success is investigated. T Target number S Skill used R needed roll; some function of T and S Pi Probability for success type i P(exp) Probability that some expression is true X Number of sides on dice used n Number of dice 2.1 Single Die, Die + Skill Systems The mathematics are simple. All events are equally likely. Assume R = T-S. If R<=1 then P1=1 and it is an automatic success. Otherwise, X-R+1 P1(R) = P(1DX >= R) = ------- X If X < R then P2=0 unless the system is open ended. That means that if you roll X on you DX your roll again and add X. Suppose this roll is called 1DX+ and R=k*X+R' with R'=R') = --- * P1(R') X^k It is not usual to use open-endedness with rolling ones. Often a 1 is considered an automatic failure. Lets call this type of roll 1DX*. If R<=1 then P3(R)=(X-1)/X otherwise P3(R) = P2(R) 2.2 Single Die, Die <= Skill Systems Here it is even simpler. All events are also equally likely. If S>=X then its a success and P4=1. If S<1 then its a failure and P4=0 else S P4(R) = P(1DX<=S) = --- X 2.3 Multi Die, Skill + Dice Systems Here things start to get more complicated. Not all events are equally likely. And an important principle for roleplaying is: The more dice are added, the likelier are average results. It is not easy to give a basic function to decide on the probabilities in general. But here is a recursive one. Assume R=T-S P*(R) indicates P1(R) if using the basic system P2(R) if using open ended rolls P*(1,R) = P*(R) R-1 P*(n+1,R) = SUM [ ( P*(r)-P*(r-1) ) * P*(n,R-r) ] + P*(R) r=1 I agree that this is a horrible expression and if some mathematician could solve this it may add clarity. 2.4 Multi Die, Dice <= Skill Systems This is just as complicated as the previous system and the solution is the same with P*(R)=P4(R). In general, values range between n and nX. The graph is centered around n*(X/2) with a variance of n*(X+1)/2. If more than one die is used, the graph becomes bell shaped. 2.5 Dicepool Systems In this case one is more interested in the number of successes. Call Y the number if open-ended rolls that were >= T. P(Y>=0)=1, you always have at least zero successes. If n is the number of dice used P(Y>=n+1)=0, you can never have more successes than dice. Otherwise, with t the needed number of successes n P5(R) = P(Y>=t) = SUM [ comb(n,i) * P2(t)^t * (1-P2(t))^(n-t) ] i=t k! Where comb(k,i) = ----------- and k! = k*(k-1)*(k-2)*...*1 (k-i)! * i! 2.6 The FUDGE(R) System Here skills range from -s to s and rolls range from -r to r. The more dice are used the more extreme the results can become. But if a large range is used extreme results are still unlikely. The results are always -(r+s) <= result <= (r+s). Assume R=T-S. If R > n then P6=0. If R <= -n then P6=1 otherwise round-down([n-R]/2) n-i P6 = P(ndF>=R) = SUM [ comb(n,i) * ( SUM comb(n-p,j) ) ] i=0 j=R+i Since P(ndF>=R) is the same as P(nD3>=R-2n) you could also use that to calculate the result. 2.7 Percentile Systems These are mathematically equal to one of the others. But here X=100 and you should multiply P by 100 to get the success chance percentage. 2.8 Diceless Systems Since diceless systems do not rely on random factors (except GM mood-swings) there is no probability to discuss. It is generally a good strategy to keep your GM happy. 3.0 Strength and Weaknesses In this chapter we suggest when certain systems are more useful than others. 3.1 Single Die, Die + Skill Systems This is above all a simple system and therefore to be used when one does not want to pay to much attention to mechanics and more to roleplaying. The arithmetic is simple and the GM can use target numbers. Target numbers are often predefined in the system, so the GM can use varying difficulty levels with minimal effort. Players can figure out there chances easily and can base there actions on there chances. Open ended rolls are easily used in this system if desired. This system makes for exciting play. The chances for very high and very low results are much greater than in more realistic systems. So this system breaks down when realism becomes important. These problems become more important if a large ranged die is used. 3.2 Single Die, Die <= Skill Systems This system is even easier then the previous one and has much of the same qualities. Open ended rolls are not as clear in this system and skills are limited by the range of the die used. GM's are forced to use modifiers to reflect difficulty instead of target numbers. This may lead to too many modifiers. An advantage is that skills-numbers reflect the effective skill much better than with systems 1 and 3. 3.3 Multi Die, Skill + Dice Systems Compared to the single die system(system 1) this system is more realistic. Since the probabilities are no longer flat, very high or low results are less likely. The more dice are used the more realistic and the less heroic the system becomes. Arithmetic and figuring your chances as a player are harder now. That is the price you pay. Again open-endedness is easily added. 3.4 Multi Die, Dice <= Skill Systems The differences with system 3 are much the same as between system 1 and 2. No target numbers, no open-ended rolls. But it is simpler that system 3. Systems 1 to 4 have one problem in common. They tell you if the attempt succeeded and give some indication by how much, but no more. 3.5 Dicepool Systems Dicepool systems are complicated, but they also supply much information. They are not simple but they are elegant. They incorporate the use of target numbers and open-ended rolls fit in naturally. Success levels are clearly defined by the number of successes. Another advantage is that players can have a small pool of dice that is under their control. This simulates extra attention of characters when they use there skills in an important event and allows players more control over there characters. Since mostly small range dice are used, modifiers have a large impact on the situation. All this is very suited to realistic style games and makes bad tactics deadly. On the down side one needs many dice and figuring ones chances is complicated. A single modifier can have major effects so players do not get a clear view of there chances. 3.6 The FUDGE(R) System This system is basically like system 3. With the following differences. Here skill-levels reflect actual effective skill as much as possible. The skill-level is also the average, expected and the most likely result. The roll also directly indicates its quality. Rolling a +1 means a little better than normal and rolling -3 means you usually do a lot better. Furthermore Rolling +1,+1,-1 can be seen as you did rather well(+2) but experienced a minor setback(-1). But rolling 0,+1,0 can be interpreted you did a decent job. on the down side dF are hard to get. (you can order them from Gray Ghost Games(R) see 1.6 or make them yourself) 3.7 Percentile Systems Basically these systems are the same as system 2, but the range is very large (1 to 100) so it does not severely limit the range of skill-levels. The system is easy to use and complicated methods can be used to generate skill levels. The system is still linear, but if rolls are only considered very high or very low on a very small range, the system becomes more realistic. One can in fact simulate multi die systems by dividing the range of 1 to 100 up into regions that are small in the extreme end and become larger near 50. A danger of percentile systems is that if one needs let say 45 or under to succeed and 46 or 47 is rolled failure may seem unfair and arbitrary. Therefore I prefer to use systems were rolling 1 more or less feels like a substantial difference. 3.8 Diceless Systems In diceless systems something needs to replace the role of dice. Generally situational modifiers, GM interpretation and even roleplaying quality are used. GM interpretation is not truly random and can lead to unfair advantages. If the GM is fair, players may still view the game as biased. Bias does not need to be bad though. A GM can favor actions that fit a character, improve the story or actions that are just more fun. One more advantage is that players are seldom distracted by game-mechanics. It is hard to compare diceless systems to others and much depends on the quality of the GM. Playing with a good GM is fun regardless of the system used and even the best system can't guarantee a good time. 4.0 Genres Finally we will briefly discuss genres. In general Heroic versus Realistic, Fantasy versus Technological and High Fantasy versus Dark fantasy and Horror. 4.1 Heroic In heroic genres character are tough and capable of fantastic things. If things go wrong they go very wrong, if thing go right they go very right. So here single dice systems like 1 and 2 are useful. 4.2 Realistic But single die systems are not very realistic. In realistic games results are usually average. Sometimes things go wrong, but things are seldom disastrous. Here the multi die systems function a lot better. Especially systems 3, 4 and 5 are appropriate. 4.3 Technological In technology rich games, things are often predictable once one knows what the situation is. Information tends to get very valuable. Equipment becomes more important and more sophisticated. This calls for a system that supplies much information. Here dicepools are probably the best option. 4.4 High fantasy Here persons tend to be powerful. The systems need to be able to handle very high skills gracefully. Therefore systems 2 and 4 are not very useful. Systems 3 and 6 could be used but they lack open-ended rolls which are highly appropriate in high fantasy as characters often face more powerful opponents that require some great deed to defeat. System 7 uses percentages, which work fine in technological settings, but they just don't fit the mood of high fantasy. This leaves system 1 if you want to keep mechanics simple and system 5 if you want a lot of detail. They can be combined according to the level of complexity you want for different skills. System 8 can also be used to great effect, especially for creating the sense of wonder that no good fantasy adventure should be without. 4.5 Dark Fantasy In dark fantasy, the world is a dangerous place. Doing the wrong thing can be disastrous and just getting by is a struggle. Realism is mixed with dire results so characters can not afford frequent bad results and frequent great results do not fit the genre. Exact detail in skills is less important. Failure is failure you learn to live with that. Here systems 3 and 4 are the obvious choice. As systems 1 and 2 and 6 give to extreme results and system 5 complicates things needlessly. 4.6 Horror In horror characters are not powerful, monsters are. Superb play and/or planning is needed to even hope to defeat the enemy. System 1 and 2 give great results to often and system 6 does not have the range to express the skill-levels at both the high and the low end naturally. Just like in Dark fantasy system 5 and 7 are to detailed, horror just isn't about numbers. System 4 also limits skill range so system 3 seems more useful if dice are to be used. System 8 is also very well suited, because it is much more description based as is horror. 5.0 Epilogue During the final stages of writing this, I would have preferred to discuss many things with Barbara. Especially concerning chapter three. She could undoubtedly have added much wisdom. Sadly I could not reach her through the net and any oversight can only be blamed on me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slight's Miscellanea (Steven Cox ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Salutations! Welcome to the first article of my monthly column! I'd like to take a little space each month to provide some background information on the article itself, and perhaps to cover whatever is rambling around inside my mind. First of all, this column is devoted to presenting game mech for the AD&D system, ranging from additional rules systems to new spells and magical items. Who knows what I'll come up with from month to month, but I'll endeavor to make it unique and, hopefully, fun to use! Second, this specific article deals with the recently-released new psionic system as presented in Player's Option: Skills and Powers and the new Dark Sun boxed set. For a system that was supposed to claer up the errors found in the original Complete Psionics Handbook system, many folks have found the new system to be even more unworkable. For your entertainment, presented below is a (rather-lengthy) patch to bring the new system up to speed. Finally, anyone wishing a copy of these articles in their original MS Word 2.0 format, just drop me an email and I'll send a copy out ASAP. Enjoy! **** S&P Psionics Revision By: Michael Brown (mikeyb@thurston.ME.Berkeley.EDU) Steven Cox (slight@bev.net) Version Information v1.0: Psionic Attacks and Psionic Defenses Charp system for psionicists v1.2: Virtually all the Miscellaneous information Expanded upon Psionic Defenses v1.4: Much editing and formatting ;) Mass Contact, Failure Costs, and Psionic Attack saving throws Version information added Harbingers & Constructs Table With the release of the Player's Option: Skills & Powers rulebook, AD&D gamers are presented with a revision of the existing psionic rules. Unfortunately, despite the inherent potential in the ideas posed by S&P, there are several design flaws that need to be corrected before the revision could be put into test. This article is intended to fix the various errors and allow players to fully explore the new psionics. ***Psionic Attacks*** Probably the most glaring mistake is evident with the revised psionic attack forms. Originally, the five "telepathic attack modes" enabled access to an opposing psionicist's mind by establishing tangents, or a "three-fingered contact". Now, before one gains access to a psionicist's mind, one must totally batter their defenses down, shown in game terms as a reduction of their PSP scores to zero. Within this change, tho, appears the problem. In most cases, the attacks require a higher PSP expenditure than the attacks take away from the defender! Ego Whip: 1d6 PSPs damage per 4 PSPs (average 3.5/4) Id Insinuation: 1d8 PSPs damage per 6 PSPs (average 4.5/6) Mind Thrust: 1d4 PSPs damage per 2 PSPs (average 2.5/2) Psionic Blast: 1d12 PSPs damage per 10 PSPs (average 6.5/10) Psychic Crush: 1d10 PSPs damage per 8 PSPs (average 5.5/8) As shown, the average attack will cost more PSPs than the attack will take away from the opposing psionicist. The surest way to lose in psionic combat is to participate! This may have real-world similarities (such as the Cold War-era MAD doctrine), but a gaming combat system that discourages combat isn't very entertaining! Presented below is the suggested "patch" for the S&P psionic attack costs. They're quickly listed, but below them is presented some of the math worked thru to mentally test the fix. Ego Whip: 2d6 PSPs damage per 4 PSPs (average 7/4) Id Insinuation: 2d8 PSPs damage per 6 PSPs (average 9/6) Mind Thrust: 2d4 PSPs damage per 2 PSPs (average 5/2) Psionic Blast: 2d12 PSPs damage per 10 PSPs (average 13/10) Psychic Crush: 2d10 PSPs damage per 8 PSPs (average 11/8) First, there is the necessity to make these psionic attacks cost- efficient. There is simply no psionicist in his right mind (no pun intended) who would use the attacks as presented in S&P. If a psionic attack is going to be employed, it must make a "PSP profit", and in most cases, a sizable profit. As shown above, every attack now will do more PSP damage than it costs to utilize, on the average. The chance of "going into the black" is still present, however. Second, given the fact that a psionicist may pick which psionic attacks they gain as they advance levels, some incentive is needed to make the lower-powered attacks more tempting to use. This is accomplished by the lessening percentage of PSP "profit" with the more powerful attacks. Here are some numbers to toss around: Ego Whip: 75% profit average 16% not profitable Id Insinuation: 50% profit average 24% not profitable Mind Thrust: 250% profit average 6% not profitable Psionic Blast: 30% profit average 31% not profitable Psychic Crush: 37% profit average 28% not profitable To clarify, Ego Whip does an average 7 PSPs of damage, or a 75% profit, per 4 PSP expenditure. To be non-profitable, one would have to do 2-4 PSPs of damage which occurs only 16% of the time. As the maximum amount of PSP damage per power rises, the profitability lowers and the chance to be non-profitable increases. While its the better tactic to try to drain the opposing psionicist's PSPs as quickly as possible, using a slower psionic attack has its advantages. But this brings to light another problem. Now that the cheaper attacks are comparatively better than their higher-cost brethren, what is stopping the psionicist from not even bothering with the more expensive powers? For example, why invest 20 PSPs (or 2 "units" of PSPs) into Psionic Blast when one could invest 20 PSPs (10 "units") into Mind Thrust and get better results? One method to prevent this abuse is to put a PSP unit cap on each power, something like 4 units per round. As such, a better power like Mind Thrust is topped off at 8 PSPs, while the more difficult power of Psionic Blast could throw 40 PSPs around in a single round! This reduces the min/maxing abuse inherent in the revision, while also slowing down high- level psionic combat. Do we really want to see a 200 PSP Mind Thrust utilized? An alternate method of dealing with the min/maxing problem (and if you are willing to do the math) is to have each additional "unit" of PSP damage rise in cost exponentially, doubling the cost with each additional unit. Or you may want to use "cost stacking" in which the cost of succeeding attacks is the sum of the previous attacks (of the two methods, the latter is suggested as the more fair option). For example: Mind Thrust: 2 PSPs/2d4 PSPs damage (base) (exponential) 4 PSPs/4d4 PSPs damage (2*2) 8 PSPs/6d4 PSPs damage (4*2) 16 PSPs/8d4 PSPs damage (8*2)... and so on. Mind Thrust: 2 PSPs/2d4 PSPs damage (base) (cost-stacking) 6 PSPs/4d4 PSPs damage (4+2) 12 PSPs/6d4 PSPs damage (6+4+2) 20 PSPs/8d4 PSPs damage (8+6+4+2)... and so on. These two options remove the need for the artificial PSP "cap", allowing high-level psionicists to exact serious damage in a single round, but at a terribly inefficient cost ratio. Sometimes speed is worth it! ***Psionic Defenses*** Another major problem is with the psionic defenses. Under S&P rules, when an attack and defense collide, one cross-references the powers on the Psionic Attacks vs. Psionic Defenses Table. Depending on which powers are facing off, a MTHAC0 bonus or penalty is assigned to the attacking psionicist. Note an unusual property of this table - there is a 40 to 60% probability that any given psionic defense will make one more likely to take damage from a psionic attack! The below numbers are an attempt at making all the attacks, no matter their comparative power, be a better defense than no defense! Note: These numbers are bonuses to the user's bases MAC. For example, using Tower of Iron Will against Mind Thrust grants a +10 MAC. This represents a minor change in how defenses are viewed, but hopefully is an improved viewpoint. Thought Mind Mental Intellect Tower of Shield Blank Barrier Fortress Iron Will Mind Thrust 10 0 5 9 10 Ego Whip 0 5 10 9 8 Id Insinuation 0 10 7 3 7 Psychic Crush 4 3 2 7 9 Psionic Blast 1 3 4 6 7 New suggested costs: 1/2/3/4/5 for Thought Shield to Tower of Iron Will, in that order. Statistically, this scheme has the attack modes meeting less and less average defense (6.8/6.4/5.4/5/4.2) as the attacks power up. The average defense provided by each power increases with cost: (3/4.2/5.6/6.8/8.2). Presented below is an reminder on how the various psionic attacks and defenses operate: Mind Thrust: This mental attack is representative of the psi forming physical "attacks" with his mind; forming mental swords, blasts of fire, etc, and sticking his opponent with them. Ego Whip: This attack beats the target's emotions into paste; smashing him with waves and symbols of despair, anguish, anger, and drowning him in misery. It is the manifestation of "pure" emotion. The Dark Sun supplement, The Will and the Way, suggests harbingers like the Slave (despair), or the Templar (betrayal). Id Insinuation: This attack mode is often described as the equivalent of a "mental poison"; when it strikes it sickens and weakens the target's will and self-image, allowing his subconscious to run rampant and, as noted in the Psionicist's Handbook, "driving him crazy". Id insinuation often takes the form of a poisonous gas or serpent-like monster; sneaking around the psi's defenses or driving a poisonous fang right through them. Psychic Crush: The psionicist generates "overwhelming forces" to smash his enemy's mind. This is another relatively "physical" attack, taking the form of giant boulders, behemoth-type monsters, natural disasters like earthquakes in the mental landscape, etc. Psionic Blast: The most devastating attack mode is the ever-popular Psionic Blast, which generates a ferocious burst of mental energy and can take, reasonably, any "physical" form; a hail of missiles, a blast of dragon's breath, etc. Dark Sun gives Psionic Blast the attributes of a vicious beast that tears and shreds the target into gory bits. The defining characteristic of this attack is the power behind it; the only real way to protect against it is to have as powerful a defense as possible. The more expensive the defense mode, the better defense it provides. Thought Shield: This defense mode generates "physical armors" for the psionicist's mental personae. This provides excellent defense against Mind Thrust's physical attacks (sword vs. shield); and some against Psychic Crush (also physical). It doesn't really have any application to protecting the user's emotions, so it provides no defense against Ego Whip, and the poisons of Id Insinuation just slip past the armor. Psionic Blast just overpowers it completely, although the physical armor helps a tiny, tiny bit. Note: unlike the presentation of the Psionicist's Handbook, Thought Shield is the weakest defense, not Mind Blank (which, as a defense technique, has more utility). Mind Blank: This defense mode "hides" the mind; clouding it in a confusing landscape - forests, a thick fog, darkness, etc. This provides good defense against Ego Whip, since the mind is "hiding in the closet" and the "door" muffles the attack. Id Insinuation is totally foiled because it can't find the right place to "bite". The hiding technique isn't as effective against the physical attacks - Psychic Crush defeats it easily because of the "size" of the crushing attack (sure, you're hiding in that copse of trees, but what good does that do when a landwhale is smashing the whole thing down?). Mind Thrust's directness punches right through deception, and hiding from it will do one absolutely no good. Hiding might protect you from Psionic Blast a little, but its harbingers either smash the entire hiding place at once, or, as "animals", can hunt through it. Mental Barrier: This is the "concept" defense - the psionicist fills his mind with a powerful and consuming thought, like "Truth" or "Pure Will" or even "Hatred" or "Denial" - you name it. This provides great defense against the "emotional" attack of Ego Whip (which is snuffed). Id Insinuation's poisons can't find purchase - a mind focused on "Truth" transcends its subconsciousness and can't be dislodged - one that is denying the attack's very existence renders the poisons feeble. Mental Barrier is a reasonably powerful defense, and the power behind it even mitigates the ferocity of Psionic Blast to some degree; calming the beast within, so to speak - but not very much. Mental Barrier provides good strength against Mind Thrust as well, due to its "overpower" and the fact that these concepts, given form, somewhat confound the weaker, direct attacks of Mind Thrust. How can one "stab" the Truth? Unfortunately, Mental Barrier is confounded utterly by Psychic Crush, which destroys the defender along with his petty concepts..... Intellect Fortress: This defense girds the psionicist into the fleshly form of an incredibly tough monster - a "living fortress". An ironwood tree, a Dragon Turtle, Dinosaur, Tarrasque, an a giant Beetle are all good examples of the Fortress constructs. These provide great defenses against all "physical" harbingers, and the "living" nature of the beasts bolsters the psionicist against Ego Whip. Id Insinuation is its weakness - poison goes right to the heart of the living beast. Tower of Iron Will: This is the ultimate in defense - building a lonely, desolate fortification, strong walled and hard to reach. The psionicist puts his psyche deep in the center of this haven. This defense takes the form of Castles, or lonely Towers. This protects against everything - the hidden mind is protected from Ego Whip, "physical" attacks fail against its ramparts. It is weakest against Psionic Blast (strong attack) and Id Insinuation (which can form poisonous vapors and slip in the "windows" or find a hidden entrance - although not easily). ***Charp System for Psionicists*** One consistent complaint about the S&P revision of psionicists was the neglect to include the charp system rules for that class which the rest of the book presented. The following are suggestions for implementing such a charp system for psionicists. Note that it would take an extensive list to fully upgrade S&P to use a charp psionicist. In cases where the rules might be unclear, consider a psionicist follows the guidelines for rogues. Also, DM's should feel free to add new charp purchasable skills/restrictions as necessary, as this is a very customizable part of the entire character creation process. Psionicists (beginning charps: 40) The standard psionicist purchases access to disciplines (25), psionic attacks/defenses (5), followers (5), and saving throw bonus (5). Access to Disciplines (5-25): It costs 5 points per discipline to which the psionicist has access. For example, if the psionicist wanted access to 4 disciplines, it would cost 20 charps. The standard psionicist purchases all 5 disciplines for 25 charps. Psionic Attacks/Defenses (5): Psionicists who purchase this ability gain psionic attacks and defenses automatically by level advancement. The rate of acquisition is listed in S&P, p.154, Table 80 1d8 for Hit Points (10): Psionicists with this ability use 1d8 to determine their hit points instead of 1d6. Followers (5/10): By purchasing this skill, a psionicist can gain followers as described in the Complete Psionics Handbook if he builds a sanctuary and is at least 9th level. If this is purchased as a 10 point ability, the fighter can attract followers whenever he establishes a sanctuary, regardless of level. Saving Throw Bonus (5): Psionicists with this ability gain a +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. enchantment/charm spells. Warrior Hit Point Bonus (5): A psionicist with this ability can enjoy the benefits of a high Con score as if he were a fighter. For example, a psionicist with Con 18 would gain 4 bonus hp instead of 2. Armored Psionicist (15): This psionicist can use his abilities while wearing the armor of his choice. Weapon Specialization (15): The psionicist can specialize in a particular weapon. The charp cost for gaining proficiency and specialization in the weapon must be met in addition. Discipline Focus (10): The psionicist's MTHAC0 scores in his primary discipline are increased by +2. Combat Bonus (10): A psionicist with this ability uses the priest's THAC0 table. Optional Restrictions No Weapons/Armor (5): The psionicist may not use any weapons or armor. Limited Magical Item Use (5+): A psionicist with this restriction disdains enchanted items as a crutch for the weak and refuses to use certain categories of magical items. For each barred category, he receives 5 charps. The categories are: potions, oils, and scrolls; rings, rods, staves, wands, and miscellaneous magical items; all magical weapons and armor. Note that Contact (ie - psionic attacks) have been changed over to be a class ability, not treated as a nonweapon proficiency (an ill-fated idea, in our opinion). When dealing with Wild Talents, it is suggested to allow them to use charps from their true class to purchase the psionicist Psionic Attacks/Defenses ability, and to spend additional 5 charp increments in the future to gain additional attacks (ie- Wild Talents don't follow the true psionicist's attack/defense acquisition rate, but must purchase them when able). Here are the suggested charp cost/relevant stats for the psionicist's NWPs: Name NWP cost Init Rating Harness Subconscious 4 5 (Wisdom/Willpower) Meditative Focus 3 7 (Wisdom/Willpower) Rejuvenation 3 6 (Wisdom/Willpower) Mental Armor 3 5 (Wisdom/Willpower) ***Miscellaneous*** The S&P psionics revision created further problems, some of which are unnoticed until studied with a careful eye. Presented below are some conceptual errors that need to be changed to make the system playable. Stealthy Psionicists: The change to the nature of psionic contact appears to have drastically weakened the psionicist when it comes to making contact quietly and without notice. Back in the Psionics Handbook, the psionicist could enter a victim's mind without notice using the Contact power. Under S&P rules, the only method to enter a victim's mind is by psionic attack. As described in the Psionics Handbook, contact by psionic attack feels "like a tiger has unsheathed its claws in your head". This is about as far from subtle as possible! How could powers such as Daydream, False Sensory Input, and Invisibility operate, when their surprise factor highly reduced or simply eliminated? While contact will always present itself as a sudden mental pain (probably best compared to a headache, perhaps migraine level), this does not necessarily point towards psionic intrusion. Since psionics is rare in most campaigns, it's very unlikely that a sudden headache will be linked to a psionic attack. Given the general state of health of the average medieval citizen, headaches were probably a quite common occurrence. DMs may want to handle whether or not targets of contact recognize the attempt as contact in a similar method as adjudicating illusions. Clever psionicists will disguise their contacts with other painful activities - an earsplitting noise, a whack on the head, or even telling the victim he's been given a drug. Anything to give the victim a reason to suspect that the sudden headache is being caused by normal circumstances, or at least abnormal circumstances that don't relate to psionics! For players of psionic characters who wish to bring back the truly stealthy psionicist, you might want to allow psionic attacks with a -5 to -10 MTHAC0 modifier to establish contact without causing an obvious mental pain. A subtle contact shouldn't be easy - part of the spirit of the new rules is that no psionicist can manipulate a victim's mind without some tell-tale clues. Remember that one of the main complaints about the Psionics Handbook was that the powers were too stealthy! Closing An Opened Mind: The S&P psionics revision has made it much easier for non-psionicists to protect themselves with the ability to close an opened mind. However, this reduces the effectiveness of psionic powers that normally have long duration, such as Fate Link. The problem can be solved by redefining the effects of closing an opened mind. First, closing one's mind prevents the activation of any new telepathic powers against the target, until the mind is re-opened. Second, this prevents exercising any active powers already established. In other words, passive powers such as Fate Link that have been "implanted" into a victim while having an opened mind will not be severed if the victim manages to close his mind. Even active powers such as Domination that have been implanted will not be severed, but no active control can penetrate the closed mind. In many ways, this is similar to the effect of a Protection from Evil spell. Powers remain in place if the psionicist continues to pay maintenance costs, as the psionicist has a "foot in the door". When and if the target's mind is re-opened, the implanted powers can again be accessed and controlled. Example: A Dominated victim could not be controlled after the he manages to re-close his mind, but, if the maintenance costs are paid, the psionicist won't have to reactivate Dominate once he re-opens the target's mind. Level Modifications: It has been suggested that a system be installed that makes it more difficult to resist higher-level psionicists. This problem is present throughout the AD&D system, and has finally been touched upon by the presentation of Saving Throw Modifications by Level, a set of new rules presented within the DMs Option: High Level Campaigns sourcebook (table 36, p.143). For example, let's consider a 7th level fighter attempting to close his mind from the intrusions of a 12th level psionicist. When the fighter makes his saving throw vs. paralyzation, his roll would normally need be 10 or better. Due to the higher level of his psionicist attacker, this saving throw is penalized, requiring a 14 or better. If the fighter were to have been of higher level than his attacker, the saving throw would have received a bonus. Presented below is the Psionicist's saving throws by caster level or hit dice (yes, this is the same as the rogue chart as presented in HLC): Target's Class Target's Level Paralyze/Death Magic Petrify/Polymorph Spells Psionicist -9 or more 13 12 15 -5 to -8 12 11 13 -1 to -4 11 10 11 0 10 9 9 +1 to +4 9 8 7 +5 or more 8 7 5 Range Limitations: With the loss of the unlimited range Contact power, replaced by the psionic attacks, the range of many of the telepathic powers have been greatly reduced. As the psionic attacks are limited to line-of-sight targeting, what good are powers such as Mindlink, Send Thoughts, and Sight Link? Sending thoughts to comrades across the room isn't nearly as useful as sending thoughts across the globe! To handle this limitation, it's suggested that the non-attack communication powers be granted an innate contact ability, allowing for a much greater range. This gives the powers the ability to "knock on the door and ask to be let in" - to carry an announcement and request a voluntary contact. For these powers, use the old Contact rules found in the Psionics Handbook to determine cost modifiers for range: Separation Distance Power Score Modifier Line-of-sight 0 1 mile -1 10 miles -3 100 miles -5 1,000 miles -7 10,000 miles -9 For example, consider a psionicist who wishes to give a message to an old friend who happens to live an another city nearly 100 miles away. Instead of having to use a psionic attack on his comrade (which isn't very friendly, and besides, the city is way beyond LOS), the psionicist uses the innate, albeit limited, Contact of Send Thoughts. The psionicist makes his MTHAC0 roll at -5 for the distance involved, and reaches out across the distance and politely requests that his friend open his mind to accept a message via Send Thoughts. This limited form of Contact cannot force a target's mind open, nor can it by itself convey any information beyond who the Contactee is. PSP Acquisition: Similar to the inherent problem behind the S&P psionic attacks, the rate of PSP acquisition between psionicists and wild talents is skewed. Psionicists are listed as gaining 1d6 PSPs per level, while the wild talents gain a flat rate of 4 PSPs per level. For the statistically challenged, the average value of 1d6 is only 3.5 - purebred psionicists will have fewer PSPs than their equivalent wild talents? There is another fault to be considered in PSP acquisition - the 9th level PSP ceiling. Akin to the slowdown point of hp acquisition at 9th level, the psionicist is reduced to a 3 PSPs per level gain once reaching that level (altho the wild talent is still gaining his flat rate 4 PSPs!) These problems are simple to fix: 1) Psionicists receive 8 PSPs per level (plus any bonuses from Con, Int, Wis) 2) Wild Talents receive 1d6 PSPs per level (no bonuses possible) The rationale behind these values is easy to see. Psionicists are, quite obviously, the specialists of psionic skill. They should receive a flat rate of PSP acquisition, and an appreciable rate at that. 3.5 PSPs per level dampers the class to such a degree that be barely functional. Wild talents, on the other hand, are just the candidates for random PSPs. Having gained their powers thru sheer luck, without any training or discipline, their power level should be decided by luck as well. Mass Contact: The high science of Mass Contact, listed in The Will And The Way, needs to be updated to correspond with the new rules. To use this power under the modified rules, very few changes need to be made, however. The power is still considered a high science, and must be purchased like normal psionic powers: Mass Contact Telepathic High Science MAC: special PSP special Range: special Area of Effect: special Prerequisite: 10th level Mass Contact is the High Science of Telepathy. It allows the telepath to psionically attack a number of minds at the same time instead of attacking each subject individually. The user picks which one of the five normal psionic attacks to use and may now use it to attack a group, limited by the normal range of the chosen power. The cost of Mass Contact is the sum of the power usage against each target as if the psionicist would have attacked each target individually. For each additional target past the first, the psionicist's MTHACO roll is penalized by -1. One attack roll is made for *all* the attacks, and one attack is made for *all* of the power activations. Mass Contact is an all-or-nothing proposition. For example, consider a high-level psionicist (MTHACO: 10) using a Mass Contacting-Mind Thrust on 10 low-level targets (MAC: 10) within range. The psionicist spends 2 PSPs (the base cost of Mind Thrust) times 10 (the number of targets) for a total of 20 PSPs. The attack roll is penalized by -9, so the psionicist needs to roll an 11 or better to succeed. Assuming the psionicist succeeded with this attempt to open his target's minds, he can then go on to make another psionic attack that same round. Now the psionicist uses a Mass Contact-Id Insinuation to bludgeon his foes. He spends 6 PSPs (base cost of Id Insinuation) times 10 (number of targets) for a total of 60 PSPs and makes another attack roll at -9. If effective, all ten targets are left dazed and confused for 1d4 rounds. Mass Contact is a High Science and cannot be selected as a science without first engaging in extensive meditation (as outlined in The Will And The Way). Psionic Vampirism: Under the new psionic rules, the Psionic Vampirism power (as presented in The Will and the Way) overlaps the function of the new psionic attacks, as well as being inconsistent with some of the new core rules. Presented below is the revised Psionic Vampirism power Psionic Vampirism Psychometabolic Devotion MAC: 8 PSP Cost: 8/3 Range: touch Area of Effect: Individual Prerequisite: none Psionic vampirism is the much feared ability to steal another's psionic strength in order to replenish the psionicist's own. Although it resembles psychic drain, psionic vampirism is different in three important ways: first, PSPs are directly drained; secondly, the victim need not be asleep; and third, the victim need not be humanoid, it only need a PSP pool. Psionic vampirism is a very painful process, but is not debilitating as psychic drain can be. To begin draining PSPs, the psionicist must first make his MTHAC0 roll against this power's MAC. This roll also determines the amount of PSPs drained per usage of the power (as below). Once established, the psionicist must touch the target to be drained, requiring a to-hit roll. A successful touch attack is necessary for each round of draining desired. MTHAC0 Roll PSP Drain 19-20 3 PSPs 17-18 5 PSPs 13-16 7 PSPs 10-12 9 PSPs 8-9 11 PSPs 6-7 13 PSPs 5 or less 15 PSPs Although no permanent damage is caused by this power, it is unpleasant to the extreme and the victim will almost certainly not want to voluntarily experience this drain! Psionic strength drained by this power returns normally, just as if the victim had expended the PSPs himself. If the victim is drained to 0 PSPs by psionic vampirism, he must make a saving throw versus death or fall unconscious for 2d6 turns. Power Score: Rate of PSP drain doubles. 20: The power backfires; the user loses half of his remaining PSPs. Failure Costs of Psionic Attacks: If a psionic power is attempted and failed, the user must still pay a small PSP cost, between 30-50% of the power's true cost. However, this doesn't hold true of the psionic attacks. No matter how many units of PSPs are pumped into these attacks, the user still pays only 1-5 PSPs if the power were to fail. The reason is that, under the existing rules, the amount of PSP units placed in an attack are determined after the attack roll is made. This makes for both unrealistic failure costs and removes strategy from psionic attacks. The PSP units should be declared before the attack roll is made. If the attack roll fails, the user pays the regular failure cost times the number of units. For example, Ego Whip costs 4 PSPs per unit and normally has a 2 PSP failure cost. If the user intends to fire off a 20 PSP (5 unit) attack with this power and fails, the failure cost would be 10 PSPs (5 units times a failure cost of 2). Also note that disrupted psionic powers (unlike failed psionic powers, as mentioned above), normally cost 1 PSP when disrupted. If a psionic attack is disrupted, multiply the cost by the number of units. As in the example above, an Ego Whip attack using 5 units of PSPs would cost 5 PSPs if disrupted. Psionic Attacks & Saving Throws: It has been suggested that some of the psionic attacks are too potent to not allow saving throws, with Ego Whip and Id Insinuation being noted most often as the offenders of the group. If these powers do seem rather nasty, simply allow saving throws vs paralyzation to negate the effects of the attack. The other three psionic attacks don't appear to need such saving throws, but could be incorporated if felt necessary. Psionic Blast and Psychic Crush could have saves for half damage, if so desired, but it is the opinion of the author's that these powers are expensive and limited enough as-is. Some might think that saving throws for Ego Whip and Id insinuation go to far to reducing the effectiveness of these powers. An additional option is to allow the psionicist to force saving throw penalties by pumping more PSP units into the attacks. Simply have each additional unit invoke a -1 to the target's saving throw. This makes it much more likely that a high-level psionicist (with plenty of PSPs) will be able to force thru an opponent's mind even with a saving throw attached to the psionic attacks. If using the level-modified saving throws mentioned earlier in this article, it probably isn't necessary to add this option. Receptacle Usage & New Combat Rules One of the more useful powers a psionicist can have access to is Receptacle, which enables one to store PSPs within a gem or an Empowered item. A psionicist using Receptacle effectively doubles his PSP pool, drawing stored PSPs out of the item as needed. This ability holds a potential problem under the new psionic combat rules. Now that psionicists can "pump up" their psionic attacks, access to a larger PSP pool becomes abusive. It is suggested that, under S&P Psionic rules, that Receptacle only allows a transfer rate of PSPs from the item to the psionicist at a rate of 1 PSP per round. This change removes the use of Receptacle to drastically increase a psionicist's power, while still allowing the psionicist assess to additional PSPs. Basically turning a Receptacled item into a type of PSP battery, allowing the user to "recharge" quicker than normally allowed. Single Cost or Initial/Maintenance Costs? As presented in the Complete Psionics Handbook, psionic powers originally possessed two different costs - an Initial Cost and a Maintenance Cost. In an attempt to simplify psionics, the S&P rules incorporated a single PSP cost per round, a cost that is generally less expensive than the original Initial Cost, but more expensive than the Maintenance Cost. The better method is a matter of personal choice, as both methods work out be be roughly equal. However, note that the original costs are more beneficial towards maintainable powers, while the new S&P rules lend themself to one-shot powers. We suggest using the original PSP costs for their more interesting game dynamics, but if simplicity is desired, use the new PSP costs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classifieds ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have something which you are looking for, wish to sell, or are looking for gamers in your area and wish to post an add into the newsletter just e-mail me the add. 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