Psionic Philosophies (mostly 4e, but applicable to any edition)

[Aron Times]

I normally ignore the fluff of 4e, preferring to go straight to the crunch. This time, I was bored, so I took the time to read the fluff of the PHB3.

I found the four main philosophies of psionics to be quite interesting. This is mostly a 4e thread, but since it's mostly about fluff, it can be applied to any edition of D&D that has psionics. Here are the four outlined in the PHB3:

1. Fists of Zuoken

Zuoken was a human monk that Ioun made into one of her exarchs. These guys believe in personal achievement and the perfection of the mind and the body. They also believe that psionic power should be nurtured among those who possess it. These guys are usually Good.

2. Guiding Hand

With great psionic power comes great responsibility. Psionic individuals have a responsibility to protect the weak from those who would harm them. The PHB3 states that most followers of the Guiding Hand are usually Good or Lawful Good.

3. School of Unmatched Excellence

Psionic individuals are superior to those without psionics, and are meant to rule over their lesser kindred. Think Clan Ventrue from Vampire, except that they're psionicists instead of vampires. Generally Evil, with some Unaligned members who honestly believe that the world would be better off under their leadership.

4. The Path of Thirty-Seven Obstacles

I call this one the shounen philosophy. Members of this philosophy seek out and challenge worthy opponents to prove their superiority (and maybe take their vanquished foe's treasure). To no one's surprise, these guys very often end up as adventurers.

I would definitely be an Unaligned member of the School of Unmatched Excellence. Clan Ventrue is my favorite in Vampire, and my favorite class in 4e is the psion, who has the largest repertoire of mind control powers in the game (including an at-will power named Betrayal at level 3!).

What about you?

[rayne_dragon]

I'm not keen on any of the philosophies... personally, I'm more likely to multi-class or hybrid with star pact warlock so I have an excuse to try unleash the Far Realm on the cosmos using psionics and magic. I'm given to understand this sort of attitude is discouraged for 4e adventurers though.

[Mando Knight]

So...

1. Fists of Zuoken

X-Men.

2. Guiding Hand

Spider-Man.

3. School of Unmatched Excellence

A good number of X-Men villains.

4. The Path of Thirty-Seven Obstacles

Kenny.

[Aron Times]

Of course! Why didn't I think of Kenpachi when I read that page?

[FoE]

Are psionics inherently more powerful in 4E than magic? If so, the students of the School of Unmatched Excellence are fooling themselves if they believe they are superior to anyone else.

Fists of Zuoken seems the most interesting to me. Striving for perfection seems like an admirable goal.

[SlyGuyMcFly]

So...
X-Men.

Spider-Man.

A good number of X-Men villains.

Kenny.

Woah. For a second there I thought you meant that other Kenny

[Oracle_Hunter]

Are psionics inherently more powerful in 4E than magic? If so, the students of the School of Unmatched Excellence are fooling themselves if they believe they are superior to anyone else.

Fists of Zuoken seems the most interesting to me. Striving for perfection seems like an admirable goal.

No Power Source is inherently more powerful than any other in 4e - it's part of the design philosophy.

That said, the realities of Codex Creep mean that whomever got the most recent X-Power Book is probably going to have the most "powerful" options - though not by much.

Re: OP
I've always been a fan of philosophies and orders in any edition of D&D - they're a very Fantasy touch. I'd prefer if 4e spent a bit more time detailing their philosophies (a la the Complete [Class] Books of 2e) but I understand the constraints they're working under. They're more about giving hooks than full stories which, considering that none of the 4e stuff (IIRC) is too setting specific, is a reasonable course to take.

[Swordgleam]

Huh. No "psionic powers are a dangerous burden that must be carefully controlled" philosophy. That sort of thing is always fun.

[Optimystik]

Huh. No "psionic powers are a dangerous burden that must be carefully controlled" philosophy. That sort of thing is always fun.

Magic will more than likely get that treatment when 4e Dark Sun is released.

[Swordgleam]

Magic will more than likely get that treatment when 4e Dark Sun is released.

Magic always gets that kind of treatment. I want to see a group or setting that applies that belief to people who say, "I can kill you with my brain."

[Asbestos]

Are psionics inherently more powerful in 4E than magic? If so, the students of the School of Unmatched Excellence are fooling themselves if they believe they are superior to anyone else.

How realistic!

[Inyssius Tor]

Are psionics inherently more powerful in 4E than magic? If so, the students of the School of Unmatched Excellence are fooling themselves if they believe they are superior to anyone else.

Kind of. That is, divine characters are empowered by the gods, primal characters are empowered by the Earth, shadow characters are empowered by the Shadowfell, arcane characters are empowered by every damn thing they can get their brains on--but psionic characters aren't obviously empowered by anyone or anything except themselves.

Now, martial characters also draw their power from an internal source, and they are about as powerful--slightly more, even--than psionic ones. But they generally can't fly or drive mental spikes into other people's brains or weave the air into threads of psychic flame, so...

[FoE]

I should clarify that I do play 4E, but I haven't for a while since my group dried up, so I didn't bother to get the Player's Handbook III. Hence my ignorance of the new psionic classes.

My point is that believing yourself to be superior when there are a variety of non-psionic individuals on the same power scale is just foolhardy. It's not a character concept I'd pursue in 4E unless I was interested in playing a character who gets his ego quickly deflated.

I'm more of a "Endure. In enduring, grow strong" kind of guy.

Now, martial characters also draw their power from an internal source, and they are about as powerful--slightly more, even--than psionic ones. But they generally can't fly or drive mental spikes into other people's brains or weave the air into threads of psychic flame, so...

True, but are they immune to swords? Swords also kill people. They're not as flashy, true, but they're immensely practical. You just need to put the pointy end in the other man.

Semi-phenomenal nearly-cosmic power doesn't impress me if you can be sworded to death.

[Inyssius Tor]

True, but are they immune to swords? Swords also kill people. They're not as flashy, true, but they're immensely practical. You just need to put the pointy end in the other man.

Semi-phenomenal nearly-cosmic power doesn't impress me if you can be sworded to death.

Oh, indeed. It's awfully impressive to some people, though.

[Optimystik]

Magic always gets that kind of treatment. I want to see a group or setting that applies that belief to people who say, "I can kill you with my brain."

The trouble with that is the connected nature of psionic fluff. Restricting psionics is counterintuitive. In 3.5., the more psionicists there are, the stronger all the rest get - more thoughts in the Astral. In 4e, less psions means the Far Realm wins faster - we all lose.

In Eberron, the Quori no doubt want more psions too. And Dark Sun needs them to police arcanists.

Not sure how Faerun will treat it.

[Inyssius Tor]

In Eberron, the Quori no doubt want more psions too.

Yep. The Inspired want more psions to bore a hole through the world and into the Realm of Dreams; the Kalashtar want more psions to keep the Inspired from doing that, because the Realm of Dreams is ruled by things that aren't very nice.