RetroRoleplaying: The Blog

I've finally decided how Psionics will work in Microlite75. While I know most people don't use psionics, I have to have psionics abilities available to run games in my Arn Campaign. Since the whole point of Microlite75 is to produce a 0e based Microlite20 game that I can run my campaigns in, I have to have psionics. Psionics in 0e and 1e are a mess. I can make them work and did for years, but I'd really rather not.

I've never liked the idea of psionic abilities confined to special classes. Arn was designed based on 0e and 1e where most classes could have psionic abilities. This means that the 3.x SRD psionics really aren't a good starting point either. Therefore I've created what I hope will be a simple psionics system. Here's a very rough draft of the core psionics rules:

Psionics
Psionics are mental powers which aren’t magic but sometimes duplicate magical abilities. If psionics are used in a campaign, any highly intelligent being has a slight change of being psionic.

Creating Psionic Characters: Characters should check for psionics ability at character creation. Roll a d20 and add MIND bonus. On a roll of 21 or higher, the character may opt to have psionics abilities that will manifest as the character go up levels. If the roll is successful and the player opts character for the character to have psionics, roll 2d6. The result is the maximum number of psionic abilities the character will manifest. This number is immediately added to the character’s Experience Base.

Manifesting Psionic Abilities: At character creation and every time a psionic character goes up a level, the character rolls to see if a new psionic ability manifests. Roll 1d20 + MIND bonus against a DC of (21 – the maximum number of psionic abilities the character may manifest). On a successful roll, the character manifests a new psionic ability. Roll on the Psionic Ability Table below to determine the new ability. Reroll if the character already has the ability rolled.

Using Psionic Abilities: Using a psionic ability is an action. Successful use requires a 1d20 + MIND Bonus + Level/2 vs the DC given in the ability description. Certain abilities also cost HP to maintain.

These rules provide a low chance for high MIND characters of any class to have psionic abilities, allow for a random number of abilities, and allow those abilities to randomly manifest as the character goes up levels. It also attempts to provide some balance between psionic and non-psionic characters by increasing a psionic character's Experience Base by the maximum number of abilities the character can manifest. The complete draft rules, including the 20 or so psionic possible abilities, will be in the next playtest draft of Microlite75 -- which should be ready by the end of May.