Re: (TFT) Psionics Rules?

[Pasha and or Rick Smith <pnrsmith@istar.ca>]

	My rules are actually hand written notes so I will 
start  sketching out the broad outline of my rules, and let 
you  use any ideas you wish.  I am very busy at work so 
I probably won't be able to finish these any time soon now.
	I expect there will NOT be a large outcry for me
to finish these, but for your edification and ammusement
I present:

Psionics in TFT		By Rick Smith (C) 1998

	Many years ago I wrote up some psionic 
rules for a good friend of mine, Steve Nicholson.  To
make sure that they would not unballance his campaign
I made sure that they were fairly weak, and basically 
they had a number of spell like effects.  After being away
for a couple of years I visited and found his players
never used them since they had magic.

	I swore my NEXT version of psionics would
not be a weak form of magic!


	In the song "Vetran of the Psychic Wars"
written by Micheal Moorcock and preformed by Blue
Oyster Cult, a psionic warrior gives up love and a
normal life in order to fight for freedom for his country.  
Years later, crippled from the wars and suffering from 
'The Shakes',  an uncaring alien society ostracizes him.  
This is an ideal basis for psionics in TFT!

	In my campaign, psionics is direct mind to
mind combat with a common result being perminant
brain damage to the loser (and occationally the winner 
as well). Psionic characters will eventually gain 
severe brain damage and suffer from a variety of 
handicaps including 'the shakes' a low level palsy 
which is occationally very painful.

	An advantage of these rules is that the players
will actually learn something about the human brain.
	
	A person who can use magic can not use psionics
and vise versa.  Also a region in the brain that can be burnt out 
is a location that allows people to use magic.  A number of
wizards have perminantly lost their ability to use magic
and so wizards generally hate psionic users.

	Psionics is generally VERY powerful and very
dangerous to the practitioner. It is not something that can be 
dropped into an existing campaign without trouble.

	In my campaign each player gains a maximum
for each attribute when the character is written up.  This
(unless already listed for that race) is equal to (the Racial
Minimum of that attribute * 5 ) + (2d6).  So a human with
racial minimums of ST 8, DX 8, IQ 8 would have an
average maximum of 47 in each attribute.  When a 
character takes brain damage, it can result in attribute loss
(for example damage to the Cerebellium can result in damage
to DX), or it damage to the character's Maximum DX.
Thus players can absorb a fair amount of Brain Damage 
before the characters become unusable.

	Of course many other results of brain damage
are also possible depending on the area affected.  Over (or
under) eating, problems with maintaining body temperature,
memory loss, loss of memory formation, facial tics, 
Taurett's Syndrom, loss of ballance, blindness, loss of the
Kinesthetic sense (the sense that lets you know how your
limbs are positioned) and many other types of damage are 
possible.  As much as possible the brain damage is tied into
losses to the attributes,  maximum attributes, or attribute 
superscripts (see the essay Super-scripts in TFT). 
Character's personalities can also under go significant
changes.

	Much of psionic combat takes place in limbo
a 'cold' place where sensory data is often scrambled and
'Winds' blow which numb the mind, and can occationally
detatch the soul from the body resulting in the death of
the psionic user.  The deeper into Limbo people are the
more powerful the powers are, and the more dangerous
Limbo becomes.  Also remaining too long in Limbo can
cause an Existence Bump that will wrench the players
mind into the local past (which also is normally fatal).

	However the Psionic Powers are VERY powerful,
they can all forms of ESP powers beloved by para-
psychologists, including telepathy, clairavoience, telekinesis,
metal time travelling, heating or cooling of objects.  Some 
very powerful psionic users can affect planes and dimensions
or time itself and cause significant parts of miltary battles 
to go elsewhere or elsewhen.

	Before an psionic attack can be used, a Transfer
Mode must allow the attacker to reach the person or object
that is being targeted.  The lower IQ Transfer modes 
require the psionic user to be unconscious to use his 
power and are short range (they may even require the 
psionic user to be touching the victim).  Higher IQ 
transfere modes are much more flexible and longer 
ranged.  The Transfer Modes are:

Unconscious Touch:  (Mainly defensive, must enter Limbo.)
Probe:		(Basic transfer mode, must enter Limbo.)
Touch:		(Can stay conscious, must enter Limbo.)
Evil Eye:		(Line of sight, does not enter Limbo.)
Mind Bridge:	(Very long range, may enter Limbo.)

	Non-psionic users are very vulnerable to psionic
attacks (which is why most non-wizards hate psionic users).
The only psionic defenses that a non-psionic user can 
learn is bio-feedback, which gives basic psionic defense but
can not counter attack in any way.

	Typical attacks are a Psychic Blast that  directly 
damages the victim's IQ (it recovers at the rate of 1 point / 
turn),  stimulating the victim's pain or pleasure centers of 
the brain, trying to block never impulses (stopping 
sensory data or paralyzing the victim) or attempting to 
maneuver the enemy dangerously deep into Limbo when
a Existence Bump is eminent.

	

	The basic problem with my rules was that the
players found brain damage to be insufficiently 
amusing when it happened to them, and too heavy emphisis
on 'realism'.  If I were to fix up the rules, I would stream
line most of the system.

	I don't have time to polish these up.  Anyone
interested in collaberating with me, while keeping the 
spirit of these rules?

	Rick
	


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