Old Screeds
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Alternatives to Psionics in Dungeons and Dragons 3E and Pathfinder 1E
Mental powers, ESP, and the rest have been part of Dungeons and Dragons since the very early versions of the game. The original Advanced Dungeons and Dragons offered optional rules for psionics as well as psionic monsters galore. 2E featured an entire splat book for psionics, with way broken rules that I remember quite fondly. So, how can you bring psionics back into your 3E or Pathfinder 1E game? Let's look at how psionics has inspired new options in D&D and Pathfinder.
You can't even talk about this topic without giving a lot of attention to two Pathfinder splat books on the topic. The prime tome is "Occult Adventures," available in part in the Legacy Pathfinder 1.0 Reference Document. There's also a noteworthy "Horror Adventures" book for Cthulhu-like fun. The heart of the Pathfinder offering is Psychic Magic and Six Occult Classes. There are some really nifty ideas in here, and you do not have to take my word for it.:
- At RPG Geek, Erik Lagneback says, "In conclusion I think this book has two very solid and interesting classes, some good gear and the whole bit about the occult skills that some other classes also can grab which makes this a solid B for buy recommendation from me if you have any interest in any of that."
- Reviewing these tomes at The Other Side, Timothy S. Brannan says, "Both books are fun, but they are viewed through the lens, naturally, of the Pathfinder game. Either book has something to offer the Pathfinder GM/DM but also the D&D/OSR DM willing to do a little work and little tweaking. Classes and Archetypes can be converted as can spells and magic items. Advice on running the games is good for any sort of game system really. They are good guides, not the best, but still pretty good."
- And an uncredited review at Strange Assembly has this to say, "In sum, while I like the notion of Pathfinder flexing its thematic muscles a bit, I think that the value of Occult Adventures for most groups is going to come as a character option resource, and in that regard it gets the job done of providing a stack of interesting new ones."
Also worth mentioning, here are two Sorcerer Bloodlines for Pathfinder that hearken back to the glory days of psionics:
- From Paizo Fans United, this Psionic Bloodline, featuring minor telekinesis and a Psychic Blast.
- From Ultimate Psionics by Andreas Ronnqvist and Jeremy Smith, here's a Psychic Bloodline, also featuring telekinesis and some defensive powers.
For a simple pure old-school version of psionics, check out ChicagoWiz's Blast From The Past Take.
And I have to toot my own horn here. I have a sorcerer bloodline and a prestige class of my own creation that really call back to first edition:
- Cayzle's Psionic Bloodline gives the ability to cast psi-like spells with no components. It grants a ki pool for extra powers and possible synergy with other ki-using classes.
- Cayzle's Mentalist Prestige Class really brings back the old days, with attack and defense modes directly inspired by First Edition D&D. You have to download my free PDF splat book to use the PrC -- it's on page 45.
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