Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - [Psi] [Path/Book Magic] Path/Book Psi Powers

Prince Charon · 02-28-2020, 01:50 PM

An alternative way of expressing psi abilities, by treating them as a form of Path/Book Magic.

Magery might be renamed Psionic Aptitude or Psychic Aptitude for purposes of this style, and Path/Book Adept could be called Psionic Adept or Psychic Adept, if it is based on psionic energies rather than being Path/Book Magic that simply uses psionic terms (or perhaps there's no difference in-setting).

The core skill of this style may be either Autohypnosis or Meditation, or there could be two different styles, one for each skill. Expert Skill (Psionics) is a Complementary Skill of the core skill (though a different style could use Expert Skill (Psionics) as its core skill, that's not the way I'm thinking of this one). Each Power defaults from the core skill at -6, just like a normal Path/Book style.

Power of Astral Projection [IQ/VH]
Power of Ergokinesis [Will/VH]
Power of Extra-Sensory Perception [Per/VH]
Power of Meta-Psi [IQ/VH]
Power of Probability Alteration [IQ/VH]
Power of Psychic Healing [IQ/VH]
Power of Psychic Vampirism [IQ/VH]
Power of Psychokinesis [Will/VH]
Power of Telepathy [IQ/VH]
Power of Teleportation [Will/VH]

Meta-Psi replaces Anti-Psi, covering both disrupting psi abilities, and enhancing or otherwise modifying them. If you don't want to use Meta-Psi, it can be replaced with Anti-Psi, or Anti-Psi could be entirely separate (a Book style, or just leaving it a power).

The energy cost of a ritual (assuming Energy Accumulating magic) is equal to the character point cost of that ability at the intended level. For psi techniques, work out how much the enhancement it's based on should increase the cost (see Psi Techniques, GURPS Psionic Powers pp8-10), and add that to the energy cost of the ability.

Alternatively, for a lower energy cost, more similar to those found in GURPS Thaumatology, divide the character point cost by five (round down) to find the energy cost. To find the skill penalty for Effect Shaping magic, I suggest working out the character point cost as above, and dividing it by ten (round down). So, Astral Travel 1 would cost 28 energy in the first version, 5 points in the 'closer to GURPS Thaumatology' variant, or Astral Projection-2 for Effect Shaping magic.

Book Magic could still exist in this sort of setting, just using psi-based rituals instead of the standard ones (or creating new ones by playing around with modifiers).

This may just be the way psi works in the setting, or it may be magic imitating psi. In a setting with Universal Latency, Path/Book Psi Powers could coexist with the standard psi abilities, and perhaps be a way to awaken abilities that the user did not at first have access to.

Thoughts?

02-28-2020, 01:50 PM	#1
Prince Charon Join Date: Dec 2012	[Psi] [Path/Book Magic] Path/Book Psi Powers An alternative way of expressing psi abilities, by treating them as a form of Path/Book Magic. Magery might be renamed Psionic Aptitude or Psychic Aptitude for purposes of this style, and Path/Book Adept could be called Psionic Adept or Psychic Adept, if it is based on psionic energies rather than being Path/Book Magic that simply uses psionic terms (or perhaps there's no difference in-setting). The core skill of this style may be either Autohypnosis or Meditation, or there could be two different styles, one for each skill. Expert Skill (Psionics) is a Complementary Skill of the core skill (though a different style could use Expert Skill (Psionics) as its core skill, that's not the way I'm thinking of this one). Each Power defaults from the core skill at -6, just like a normal Path/Book style. Power of Astral Projection [IQ/VH] Power of Ergokinesis [Will/VH] Power of Extra-Sensory Perception [Per/VH] Power of Meta-Psi [IQ/VH] Power of Probability Alteration [IQ/VH] Power of Psychic Healing [IQ/VH] Power of Psychic Vampirism [IQ/VH] Power of Psychokinesis [Will/VH] Power of Telepathy [IQ/VH] Power of Teleportation [Will/VH] Meta-Psi replaces Anti-Psi, covering both disrupting psi abilities, and enhancing or otherwise modifying them. If you don't want to use Meta-Psi, it can be replaced with Anti-Psi, or Anti-Psi could be entirely separate (a Book style, or just leaving it a power). The energy cost of a ritual (assuming Energy Accumulating magic) is equal to the character point cost of that ability at the intended level. For psi techniques, work out how much the enhancement it's based on should increase the cost (see Psi Techniques, GURPS Psionic Powers pp8-10), and add that to the energy cost of the ability. Alternatively, for a lower energy cost, more similar to those found in GURPS Thaumatology, divide the character point cost by five (round down) to find the energy cost. To find the skill penalty for Effect Shaping magic, I suggest working out the character point cost as above, and dividing it by ten (round down). So, Astral Travel 1 would cost 28 energy in the first version, 5 points in the 'closer to GURPS Thaumatology' variant, or Astral Projection-2 for Effect Shaping magic. Book Magic could still exist in this sort of setting, just using psi-based rituals instead of the standard ones (or creating new ones by playing around with modifiers). This may just be the way psi works in the setting, or it may be magic imitating psi. In a setting with Universal Latency, Path/Book Psi Powers could coexist with the standard psi abilities, and perhaps be a way to awaken abilities that the user did not at first have access to. Thoughts? __________________ Warning, I have the Distractible and Imaginative quirks in real life. "The more corrupt a government, the more it legislates." -- Tacitus Five Earths, All in a Row. Updated 12/17/2022: Apocrypha: Bridges out of Time, Part I has been posted.