Roxxy
2014-11-20, 02:50 PM
I'm talking Dreamscarred Press, but that's similar enough to what was in 3.5 for the purposes of this thread. I own Psionics Unleashed, Psionics Expanded, and Psionics Augmented. I don't have too many mechanical issues with the books (though I can't allow players access to some of the abilities that make investigations really easy), and the classes themselves are well enough designed, but I don't like the whole psionic flavor. I can't put my finger on why, but I just can't get excited about it or feel like it really fits. I looked into the Rune Magic thing, but I dunno. So I'm looking for some ideas on what I could refluff psionics into in my campaign setting. I'm focusing on the classes, because I don't really plan on using the races. Here's some stuff about the setting I'm trying to fit this stuff into:
Thyressa is a magitech setting that focuses on an American flavor. The game takes place during a magic-fueled industrial revolution that began in the wake of a Great War that ended with the gods dead. Prior to the death of the gods, arcane magic was uncommon, but when the gods died it flooded the world, greatly increasing the power available to human spellcasters. Since Thyressa was the continent least touched by the war, its nations have taken over as the richest in the world.
Games set in Thyressa focus on monster hunting and dealing with rogue mages. When arcane magic poured into the world, it greatly increased the power and number of monsters in the world. The best humanity seems able to do is keep the monsters at bay. The only reason people in Thyressa live as well as they do is because of the warriors to fight and die every day so that the average citizen can go about life without having to worry about some beast coming for them in the middle of the night. That’s where the player characters come in. Even in densely settled areas, it seems like the undead, lycanthropes, fae, and other monsters never stop turning up. When they do, skilled professionals like the player characters show up to end the threat they pose. They also handle those mages who abuse magic, because the skillset and experience level necessary is similar and they pose just as much a threat. In essence, the player characters are the ones who face death on a daily basis so that everyone else doesn't have to.
Whenever I write settings, I tend to be optimistic, writing worlds I would like to live in. Nations that are pretty nice places don't lend themselves well to adventuring, though, so I had to shift the focus of the setting in a different direction. Having a group of threats that is kept at bay by courageous Royal agents, and letting the players be those agents, seems a good way of having a nice place to live in but still having plenty of things for PCs to fight.
Thyressa has fairly advanced magitech. Alchemy is the most common form of magic by far, with Alchemists outnumbering every other magic using class. Witches come next in terms of commonality, then Wizards. Witches practice an ancient form of magic that still has some practitioners, but they aren't common, and most people learn the secrets of witchcraft from family. Wizards are a newer development that melds magic and science, but it takes so long to learn (they usually start studying in their preteen years) and is so difficult to master that they are even rarer than Witches are. They can be arcane or divine (arcane witches have spellbooks, divine witches familiars). Divine spellcasters get their power by making deals with angels, demons, or spirits, or by the sheer power of their convictions (Paladins) and have always been rare, with Paladins being the rarest of the rare in the setting. Summoners are divine. This setting does not ban any Paizo base classes. It should be noted that basically every caster that isn't an Alchemist is rare to some degree. Though PCs can be any class, when it comes to NPCs Alchemists have massive dominance in terms of sheer numbers.
Mass production is a thing. Most of the clothing people wear came out of a factory, and the same applies to household and recreational goods. Canning and freezing have been mastered, and food can easily and cheaply be transported worldwide. Weapons are easily to make, but armor takes a bit longer because it has to be reasonably well fitted to the wearer. People generally have access to internal plumbing and electricity, though battery technology is very poor. We do have rotary phones, cameras (no motion pictures, though), and the printing press, and literacy is very common. Medical care is mostly administered by Experts or Alchemists.
Trains, fueled by alchemical engines, are ubiquitous for travel between cities. For travel within cities, bicycles and cable cars are dominant, though the horse is anywhere near obsolete. Alchemical engines are powerful, but they are also extremely dangerous, and a trained professional has to be present at all times during operation. Flight is even more dangerous, and only magic users can pull it off at the moment. We don’t have any passenger vehicles that can fly. Ships use alchemical engines.
Firearms exist, and are relatively common, but have not overtaken the bow or crossbow. This is because soldiers tend to fight in scattered formations to avoid offering an enticing target to magical artillery. Volley tactics are a militia thing, so the arquebus is a weapon of the militiaman, city guard, hunter, or rancher, while soldiers and guardsmen with sufficient training use bows or crossbows fitted with mechanical spanners, because these weapons make less noise, don’t throw smoke everywhere, and can be fired faster.
From a flavor point of view, the setting focuses on an area similar to America, especially coastal areas (Kelsey likes the ocean and things that go into the ocean. Lots.). In terms of major cultures, Western and Central European, Mediterranean, East Asian, South Asian, Arabian, Persian, American Indian/First Nation, Polynesian, Latin American, Mesoamerican, and South American cultures all have pretty big influences on the setting. I am a user of the Fantasy Counterpart Culture.
At the moment, I focus a lot on my analog of California, which is as Chinese as it is British (And I do portray being historically British as culturally different than being historically American. British rule isn't only a replacement for the fact that I lack a United States analog.) and used to be Spanish, and has a large Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese population, a historically important but small Persian community, and rising numbers of Indian, German, and Greek immigrants. Unfortunately bad things were done to the natives, and Puebla, Navajo, and Salish are the only tribes that haven't mostly died out.
Other major 3PP rules in use are Path of War, the Super Genius/Rogue Genius Talented Class line, and the Super Genius/Rogue Genius spell variants. I like Super Genius/Rogue Genius spell points, but I only use them if people know how.
Given this information, what kind of magic could I turn psionics into that would feel cool and fitting?
Thyressa is a magitech setting that focuses on an American flavor. The game takes place during a magic-fueled industrial revolution that began in the wake of a Great War that ended with the gods dead. Prior to the death of the gods, arcane magic was uncommon, but when the gods died it flooded the world, greatly increasing the power available to human spellcasters. Since Thyressa was the continent least touched by the war, its nations have taken over as the richest in the world.
Games set in Thyressa focus on monster hunting and dealing with rogue mages. When arcane magic poured into the world, it greatly increased the power and number of monsters in the world. The best humanity seems able to do is keep the monsters at bay. The only reason people in Thyressa live as well as they do is because of the warriors to fight and die every day so that the average citizen can go about life without having to worry about some beast coming for them in the middle of the night. That’s where the player characters come in. Even in densely settled areas, it seems like the undead, lycanthropes, fae, and other monsters never stop turning up. When they do, skilled professionals like the player characters show up to end the threat they pose. They also handle those mages who abuse magic, because the skillset and experience level necessary is similar and they pose just as much a threat. In essence, the player characters are the ones who face death on a daily basis so that everyone else doesn't have to.
Whenever I write settings, I tend to be optimistic, writing worlds I would like to live in. Nations that are pretty nice places don't lend themselves well to adventuring, though, so I had to shift the focus of the setting in a different direction. Having a group of threats that is kept at bay by courageous Royal agents, and letting the players be those agents, seems a good way of having a nice place to live in but still having plenty of things for PCs to fight.
Thyressa has fairly advanced magitech. Alchemy is the most common form of magic by far, with Alchemists outnumbering every other magic using class. Witches come next in terms of commonality, then Wizards. Witches practice an ancient form of magic that still has some practitioners, but they aren't common, and most people learn the secrets of witchcraft from family. Wizards are a newer development that melds magic and science, but it takes so long to learn (they usually start studying in their preteen years) and is so difficult to master that they are even rarer than Witches are. They can be arcane or divine (arcane witches have spellbooks, divine witches familiars). Divine spellcasters get their power by making deals with angels, demons, or spirits, or by the sheer power of their convictions (Paladins) and have always been rare, with Paladins being the rarest of the rare in the setting. Summoners are divine. This setting does not ban any Paizo base classes. It should be noted that basically every caster that isn't an Alchemist is rare to some degree. Though PCs can be any class, when it comes to NPCs Alchemists have massive dominance in terms of sheer numbers.
Mass production is a thing. Most of the clothing people wear came out of a factory, and the same applies to household and recreational goods. Canning and freezing have been mastered, and food can easily and cheaply be transported worldwide. Weapons are easily to make, but armor takes a bit longer because it has to be reasonably well fitted to the wearer. People generally have access to internal plumbing and electricity, though battery technology is very poor. We do have rotary phones, cameras (no motion pictures, though), and the printing press, and literacy is very common. Medical care is mostly administered by Experts or Alchemists.
Trains, fueled by alchemical engines, are ubiquitous for travel between cities. For travel within cities, bicycles and cable cars are dominant, though the horse is anywhere near obsolete. Alchemical engines are powerful, but they are also extremely dangerous, and a trained professional has to be present at all times during operation. Flight is even more dangerous, and only magic users can pull it off at the moment. We don’t have any passenger vehicles that can fly. Ships use alchemical engines.
Firearms exist, and are relatively common, but have not overtaken the bow or crossbow. This is because soldiers tend to fight in scattered formations to avoid offering an enticing target to magical artillery. Volley tactics are a militia thing, so the arquebus is a weapon of the militiaman, city guard, hunter, or rancher, while soldiers and guardsmen with sufficient training use bows or crossbows fitted with mechanical spanners, because these weapons make less noise, don’t throw smoke everywhere, and can be fired faster.
From a flavor point of view, the setting focuses on an area similar to America, especially coastal areas (Kelsey likes the ocean and things that go into the ocean. Lots.). In terms of major cultures, Western and Central European, Mediterranean, East Asian, South Asian, Arabian, Persian, American Indian/First Nation, Polynesian, Latin American, Mesoamerican, and South American cultures all have pretty big influences on the setting. I am a user of the Fantasy Counterpart Culture.
At the moment, I focus a lot on my analog of California, which is as Chinese as it is British (And I do portray being historically British as culturally different than being historically American. British rule isn't only a replacement for the fact that I lack a United States analog.) and used to be Spanish, and has a large Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese population, a historically important but small Persian community, and rising numbers of Indian, German, and Greek immigrants. Unfortunately bad things were done to the natives, and Puebla, Navajo, and Salish are the only tribes that haven't mostly died out.
Other major 3PP rules in use are Path of War, the Super Genius/Rogue Genius Talented Class line, and the Super Genius/Rogue Genius spell variants. I like Super Genius/Rogue Genius spell points, but I only use them if people know how.
Given this information, what kind of magic could I turn psionics into that would feel cool and fitting?