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johndallman · 02-04-2020, 06:24 AM

There is a huge variety of possible changes, although they may not be very large if the underlying politics aren't changed.

For example, psychic espionage in Moscow could reveal that Russia was serious about helping Serbia. However, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, the chief of staff of the Austrian army, overrated his country dramatically, and would not have been much concerned about Russia committing to war. Berlin didn't believe that Russia was serious, and Austria would probably not have told Berlin that they were.

Subtle psionic or magical powers don't tend to make much difference on a battlefield in GURPS, from experience in a lengthy WWII campaign. They're much more useful in espionage and counter-espionage, and the effects of those are difficult to estimate at a high level before a game starts.

Some things that would clarify the scenario:

What has Austria-Hungary not bought, so that it can afford the psionics program?
What does the rest of Europe think about the program? It can't be entirely secret if it has trained 50,000 people during peacetime.
Which ethnic groups within the empire predominate in the program?

02-04-2020, 06:24 AM	#2
johndallman Night Watchman Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Cambridge, UK	Re: World War One Psychics [Powers] There is a huge variety of possible changes, although they may not be very large if the underlying politics aren't changed. For example, psychic espionage in Moscow could reveal that Russia was serious about helping Serbia. However, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, the chief of staff of the Austrian army, overrated his country dramatically, and would not have been much concerned about Russia committing to war. Berlin didn't believe that Russia was serious, and Austria would probably not have told Berlin that they were. Subtle psionic or magical powers don't tend to make much difference on a battlefield in GURPS, from experience in a lengthy WWII campaign. They're much more useful in espionage and counter-espionage, and the effects of those are difficult to estimate at a high level before a game starts. Some things that would clarify the scenario: What has Austria-Hungary not bought, so that it can afford the psionics program? What does the rest of Europe think about the program? It can't be entirely secret if it has trained 50,000 people during peacetime. Which ethnic groups within the empire predominate in the program? __________________ The Path of Cunning. Indexes: DFRPG Characters, Advantage of the Week, Disadvantage of the Week, Skill of the Week, Techniques.