DRAGON 1

Vol. VIII, No. 4 October 1983

SPECIAL ATTRACTION

Citadel by the Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Contest-winning AD&D module

OTHER FEATURES

MIND GAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6A set of articles onpsionics in the AD&D world

Psionics is different . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7An overview and examination

Sage Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Mind-boggling questions & answers

Overhauling the system. . . . . . . . . . . . .22The problem and a solution

And now, the psionicist . . . . . . . . . . . 2 6Psionics as a class specialty

The Deryni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34A magical race of NPCs . . .

Heroes & villains of the Deryni . . . . . .38. . . and the ones who made it famous

The ecology of the mind flayer . . . . . .66An illithid does no one any good

Spells can be psionic, too . . . . . . . . . . .70Similarities of magic and mind power

Be thy die ill-wrought? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62How to tell if its really random

Pop the clutch and roll! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Car chase rules for TOP SECRET play

The thrill of the hunt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84DragonQuest game variant

King of the Tabletop revisited . . . . . . . . . . .96Rules questions cleared up

REGULAR OFFERINGS

Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Letters from readers

Figure Feature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Convention calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Gamers Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Whats New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Snarfquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toDragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake GenevaWI 53147. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848.

Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,Wis., and additional mailing offices.

DRAGON is a registered trademark forDragon Publishings monthly adventure playingaid. All rights on the contents of this publicationare reserved, and nothing may be reproducedfrom it in whole or in part without prior permis-sion in writing from the publisher. Copyright 1983 by TSR, Inc.

All material published in DRAGON Magazinebecomes the exclusive property of the publisherupon publication, unless special arrangements tothe contrary are made prior to publication.DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited sub-missions of written material and artwork; how-ever, no responsibility for such submissions canbe assumed by the publisher in any event. Anysubmission which is accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size willbe returned if it cannot be published.

The issue of expiration for each subscription isprinted on the mailing label for each subscriberscopy of the magazine. Changes of address for thedelivery of subscriptions must be received at leastsix weeks prior to the effective date of the changein order to insure uninterrupted delivery.

A limited quantity of certain back issues ofDRAGON Magazine can be purchased from theDungeon Hobby Shop. {See the list of availableissues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Pay-ment in advance by check or money order mustaccompany all orders. Payments cannot be madethrough a credit card, and orders cannot be takennor merchandise reserved by telephone. Neitheran individual customer nor an institution can bebilled for a subscription order or a back-issuepurchase unless prior arrangements are made.

DRAGON Magazine is available at hobbystores and bookstores throughout the UnitedStates and Canada, and through a limitednumber of overseas outlets. Subscription rates areas follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to an address inthe U.S. or Canada; $50 U.S. for 12 issues sent viasurface mail or $95 for 12 issues sent via air mailto any other country. All subscription paymentsmust be in advance, and should be sent to DragonPublishing, P.O. Box 72089, Chicago IL 60690.

DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is pub-lished monthly for a subscription price of $24 peryear by Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR,Inc. The mailing address of Dragon Publishingfor all material except subscription orders is P.O.Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147.

This issues contributing artists:Denis Beauvais Phil FoglioRoger Raupp Dave TrampierTimothy Truman Larry Elmore

Robert Dewey1836 Wagner RoadG l e n v i e w I L 6 0 0 2 5

Phone (312)998-6237

Business manager: Mary ParkinsonSubscriptions: Mary CossmanLayout designer: Kristine L. BartyzelContributing editor: Ed Greenwood

National advertising representative:

Patrick L. PriceMary KirchoffRoger Moore

Publisher: Mike CookEditor-in-Chief: Kim MohanEditorial staff: Roger Raupp

Mental souvenirsThe sixteenth GEN CON Game Con-

vention was pretty much the same as theother four Ive been to: same location,same wall-to-wall humanity, same events(essentially), same job (for me), and manyof the same faces every year. But thatskind of like saying that every baseballgame you watch is identical: same loca-tion, same faces, . . . yet every game is stilldistinctive, and so is every convention.

The 1988 convention has been over forabout three weeks as I write this, and twothoughts linger in my editors memory.The first is that were bound to disap-point a lot of people, no matter what wedo, because of something we didnt do.We didnt print a whole lot of extracopies of older issues, and our supply ofthose issues has sunk to zero a lot fasterthan the demand will. Like it says in theletters column on the next page, werelooking into how we can satisfy thedemand for older material as a directresult of letters like Index errors, plusthe feedback we got at the convention.

The second memory is an offshoot ofthe first, but the one I like to dwell on thelongest. The many people I talked toshowed me that our readers you appreciate what DRAGON Magazine is,and what it has been. You expect it tokeep being as good as it is, if not better.Now, this is not exactly new information;many of you express these same opinionsto us through letters all the time But itsgood for us to hear these things once in awhile it helps keep us fired up so thatyoull stay fired up about us.

Like it says in this columns title, weregoing to keep both of those memories asmental souvenirs for as long as we can,and we hope well be able to keep produc-ing a magazine that bears out the confi-dence youve shown in us.

Of all the sections in our ModuleDesign Contest, category A-l attracted themost entries. For that reason, Citadel bythe Sea takes on special significance: ithad to beat out a lot of other designs towin. Our congratulations, along withother more tangible rewards, have beensent to the designer, Sid Fisher of WestDes Moines, Iowa. Your reward themodule itself is inside this issue.

The runnerup in a very tough categorywas James Adams of Austin, Texas, whowrote The Fallen Paladin, Third place,also no small feat, went to Gerald P.Upton of Willowdale, Ontario, Canada,for his Festung Schwartze. Congratula-tions to the winners, and thanks to all ofyou who entered category A-1 and forcedthe winners to be as good as they were.

D R A G O N , D U N G E O N S & D R A G O N S , A D V A N C E D D U N G E O N S & D R A G O N S , A D V A N C E D D & D ,TOP SECRET, BOOT HILL, and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

TM designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unless otherwise indicated.

2 OCTOBER 1983

electing articles for publi-cation has something incommon with the use ofpsionics: in both cases, firstimpressions are usually

accurate. A mind reader, Im not. Butwhen I first laid eyes on the pages uponpages of manuscript that Arthur Collinssent us on psionics in the AD&D game,I had the impression it was all going toend up inside this magazine.

We looked at a lot of submissions onpsionics after putting out the word afew months ago that we were planninga special section on the topic. In theend, we accepted Arthurs material,stirred in a few other manuscripts, andput them together in a super-sized sec-tion called Mind Games.

Arthur contributed the opening piece,an overview of the subject with somesuggestions for shoring up the rulesstructure. He follows with an originalcreation, the Psionicist character class.Then, thanks to Arthurs efforts and thekindness of author Katherine Kurtz, weoffer an adaptation for the AD&D gameof the Deryni race and some of the morefamous personages from the novelsabout the Deryni written by Ms. Kurtz.

Woven in and around those articlesare four other psionics features: A SageAdvice column; a short article byRobert Schroeck on solving some prob-lems in play; a glimpse at The ecologyof the mind flayer; and a piece of writ-ing by yours truly (revised andexpanded since its first publication inissue #13 of the POLYHEDRONNewszine) on the resemblances betweenmagic spells and psionic powers.

This issues cover painting hasnothing to do with psionics, except thatit probably blew your mind when yousaw it. The artist is Denis Beauvais, thetitle of the painting is Motherhood,and we hope to print more of Deniswork in the months to come.

The next in our series of contest-winning modules, Citadel by the Sea,occupies the center 16 pages of thismagazine. Its only an adventure forlow-level AD&D characters but at thesame time, theres a lot more to it thanthose characters might think.

Mathematics and physics have a lot todo with two of our other features. In anarticle thats a statisticians dream,author David Weeks explains how touse the chi-square test to see if thosetried-and-true dice of yours really aretrue. After all that mental exercise,youll need something physical, and youcant get much more physical than a carchase or a car crash. Ed R. Teixeira isthe author of an article that describesrules for moderating car chases andtheir after-effects in the TOP SECRETgame. Now, can someone tell me if atower of iron will is any good against a76 Chrysler? KM

Down with changeDear Dragon:

I am greatly disturbed with your new policychange as expressed in #76. In the past, whenreaders would write in asking for more articleson one topic or another, you would always saythat Dragon was and would be a magazinewhich would cover the whole gamut of role-playing games.

Now what will become of games whicharent either SF or fantasy? In the interest ofkeeping genres separate, you will have to starta magazine for Top Secret, Boot Hill, and allof the other role-playing games on the market.

I really feel bad about writing this letter,because Dragon is one of the loves of my life,and I always thought that if I were to write toyou, it would be in praise of something. Iwould think that if Dragons main concernwas with its readers, then it might have sentout a questionnaire to its loyal subscribers,asking for their opinions on this issue.

Im sure that the overall quality of yourmagazine will remain high, but to me therewill always be a great hole where articles onTraveller and Gamma World used to be.

David SannRandallstown, Md.

Davids letter touches on most of the pointsraised by the people who have objected to ourshifting of science fiction from DRAGONMagazine to ARES Magazine. We aregenuinely sorry that not everyone agrees withwhat we thought was a good idea. At the sametime, we werent naive enough to expect all ofyou to be happy with us for doing it.

If you feel betrayed for the reason mentionedin Davids first paragraph, we are especiallysorry. But, in fact, we havent tried to be allthings to all people for quite a while now ever since the hobby of adventure gaming androle-playing got so multi-faceted that no singlemagazine could hope to keep an eye on all ofit. The last words we had to say on the subject,in issue #70, went like this: Wed like to beable to completely satisfy everyone, but werealize we cant do that. We havent claimedto be the magazine for everyone, or anythinglike that, for a long, long time.

Our apologies for not clearly spelling out inthe policy statement exactly what games wouldbe covered where. Science fiction games,including superhero games, will henceforth becovered in ARES Magazine; fantasy and othertypes of non-SF role-playing games will be fea-tured in DRAGON Magazine. This is still theplace to look for material on the TOPSECRET and BOOT HILL games, as wellas other non-SF products.

As far as the great hole David mentions(and many of the rest of you used similarwording), its not all that great. In the year ofpublication just before the policy change wasannounced, DRAGON Magazine conta inedjust two feature articles on the Traveller

The introduction to the index says, Unfor-tunately, business and economic reasons makeit practically impossible for us to considerreprinting earlier issues in their entirety. Iunderstand why Dragon Publishing cannot

The only error in the format of the index isthe lack of inclusion of the articles in the twoBest of Dragon anthologies. Although I realizethat these articles are listed in the index, I stillthink they should have had a separate listingunder a Best of title.

The Dragon Magazine Index in issue #76was both timely and well done. Nevertheless,there were a few errors in it. Under the headingMonsters (New), gem vars should be listed asin issue #56 and not in issue #46. In addition,the Finieous Fingers heading is incomplete.Also, I could not find the Random MagicItems article (#57) or the Little People of theIroquois (#61) listed anywhere in the index.

Dear Editor:

Index errors

Clifton JessopRochester, N.Y.

I am surprised that Mr. Gygax has not givenan official ruling on the illusionist spell phan-tasmal force. All the controversy it hasreceived, on such things as illusionary clericshealing people, walking over illusionarybridges, real damage being taken by the recip-ients of the spell, etc., should have signaledMr. Gygax that there is a recurring and seriousproblem with this spell. An official article, or aletter in Out on a Limb, would be greatlyappreciated by me and many other AD&Dplayers.

Dear Editor:

Phantasmal plea

Why didnt we ask our readers before chang-ing things? Well, when we think somethingmakes sense, we just go ahead and do it. Thatapplies to selecting articles, in particular, foran issue of a magazine, and it applies to decid-ing what sorts of articles, in general, each ofTSRs magazines will cover. Were glad thatmany of you were pleased to hear about thechange, and that you wrote in to tell us so. (Itsnice to know we didnt alienate everyone. . . .)And, to those of you who dont see it the sameway we do, I can only say were sorry and askyou to give us a chance to show how we canmake the change good for you, too. KM

game, and only one article on the GAMMAWORLD game. All our policy change does ismake official a trend that had already devel-oped over the years: DRAGON Magazine is nolonger a steady, abundant source of SF gamingmaterial, and we figured it made sense to putall of our SF between one set of covers.

DRAGON 3

now. Another suggestion weve received is toreprint one old article in every new issue of themagazine, as a sort of archives series. Thatssomething we can do, and were giving it somethought. KM

Copyright queryDear Editor:

The Sage Advice section of issue #76 was ofgreat help, but its appendix, so to speak,Page Advice, contained a confusing point. Itstates that TSR cannot publish some modulesbecause of copyright reasons; a Smurf modulewas given as an example. However, TSR cur-rently has a new series of modules on themarket, EX-1 and EX-2, which are basedalmost completely on [another book]. Did TSRobtain rights for their publication, or is itsimply that the book is not copyrighted?

Peter T. EllisLedyard, Conn.

The name of the book Peter mentioned wasdeleted from his letter, so as to not ruin thesurprise for those who have yet to experiencemodules EX-1 and EX-2. And I think theresan easy answer to his question; the book inquestion is in the public domain and (as far asI know, at least) not protected by copyright.This is usually the case with works of litera-ture that were written a long time ago; mate-rial created more recently (such as Smurfs, StarTrek literature, and thousands of other ideasand concepts) are copyright-protected andcannot be used in another persons work with-out permission from the copyright holder. Itsrelatively simple to find out if something isprotected by copyright; your local librarianshould be able to help. KM

Ad accoladesDear Editor:

I have just read the letters from William C.Jerome and Geof McKinney in issue #76.While watching my mother glance throughissue #75 recently, I noticed several things thathad previously escaped my attention, andapparently also the attention of the above-mentioned gentlemen.

There were no cigarette ads. There were noads for liquor. There were no ads for life insu-rance. Every ad was fairly directly related torole-playing gaming. While I am not currentlyinterested in many of the products advertised, Imay be at some time in the future. Since mylocal hobby store cannot carry everything, howelse am I to know what is on the market? Andeven though I have never traveled to a gameconvention, I might want to at some time. It isnice to know what is planned and whether itmatches my vacation time.

I feel the editors of DRAGON have done amarvelous job of only printing ads that have areasonable chance of interesting people whoare interested in the articles published in themagazine.

Kevin ClinefelterLincoln, Neb.

Dear Editor:I am writing to correct Mr. Carl Smith on

the type of long arm that he mentions in hisarticle in #76, Saved by the Cavalry. TheSharps carbine and rifle he mentions was usedonly during the Civil War, and then only in

(Turn to page 96)

Sharps shooterConcerning Steves final suggestion, were

probably not ever going to appeal to our read-ers, asking for names of subscribers willing tosell or trade issues. We have never gotten intothe handling or merchandising of out-of-printmagazines, because that simply isnt our busi-ness, and were not considering getting into it

reprint back issues, but I could not help butfeel I wanted some out-of-print issues as Ipages through the index. Wouldnt it be possi-ble for DRAGON Magazine to run a smallcolumn each issue listing the names of sub-scribers willing to sell or trade issues? I cer-tainly wouldnt mind if you could only do thisonce. The point is that I feel that there is still away for many [readers] to get out-of-printissues and still stay within DRAGON Maga-zine policy.

Steven MonteWest Chester, Pa.

Sigh . . . Thanks for pointing out those mis-takes, Steve. The wrong issue number for gemvars was a simple typographical error; themissing articles must have somehow been lostin the shuffle. Also, youre right about the list-ing for Finieous Fingers and I really cantimagine how that one got past us. The listingshould have been continued with 51/90,53/79,and 54/80). Those of you who want to get yourindex in the best possible shape should pencilin these changes. Well try to keep you postedabout other entries that need adding or fixing and the next time we put it all down inprint, well try to be more careful.

Steves suggestion about Best of notationsis a good one, and well probably take it intoaccount the next time we update the index. Bythen, there will be at least three article anthol-ogies on the market, and its a good idea to letpeople know exactly which of our older arti-cles are still available.

Congratulations, and thanksSeven games and game products were the

honored recipients of the 1983 StrategistsClub Awards. Wed like to use this space tocongratulate six of the winners, and tothank you for making us the seventh.

The award winners were announced atthe Strategists Club Banquet held on theopening night of the GEN CON XVIGame Convention. In the order of theirunveiling, they were:

Outstanding Board GameG.I.: Anvil of Victory

Avalon Hill

Outstanding Role-Playing GameThe Star Frontiers game

TSR, Inc.

Outstanding Game, Open categoryJasmine: Battle for the Mid-Realm

Jasmine Publications

best in their fields among all gaming pro-ducts released during 1982. We think thevoters showed exceptional taste in theirchoices, and were grateful and proud thatDRAGON Magazine is on the list.

thethe

the opinion of those who voted forawards, those products represented

In1983

Outstanding Professional MagazineDRAGON Magazine

Dragon Publishing / TSR, Inc.

Outstanding Miniature FiguresGrenadier fantasy figures

Grenadier Models, Inc.

Outstanding Miniatures RulesStriker

Game Designers Workshop

Outstanding Game Play-AidChampions II

Hero Games

4 OCTOBER 1983

5

MIND GAMES Psionics inthe AD&D

world

6 OCTOBER 1983

Psionics is different . . . And thats putting it rather mildlyby Arthur Collins

Psionics is a very misunderstood part ofthe AD&D game system. The rules inthe Players Handbook have some glaringinconsistencies, and some confoundingproblems are left hanging. I had hopedthat all would be solved when the Dun-geon Masters Guide appeared, but somedifficulties remain. So, here is an attemptat a basic introduction to what the AD&Dpsionics system is and how it operates. Ifwe find more snakes than we can kill,well just fight our way out and go home.

This article is divided into two parts.First is a set of speculations on the theoryof psionic power. Given the facts as pre-sented in the rules, how can we accountfor them in terms of the game system inorder to cover questions that arise later?The second part of the article concernspsionic operations as a practical matter,and gets down to answering questionsand dealing with some of the hows andthe how-abouts.

Power from the mindThe first problem with psionic power

is that its origin is not explained, andwhat we can infer about its nature doesntfit in well with the explanations given forthe source of magical spell power.

Where does psionic power come from?It is stated and restated in the rules thatthe energy used in casting spells does notcome from the individual; no individualcould possibly be the source of suchworld-shaking power. Rather, the energyexpended in casting spells comes from themultiverse itself, usually from the OuterPlanes. The casting of a spell is just away of unlocking an opening for thatenergy to make its presence felt in ourworld, and the ritual components chan-nel that raw energy in the directiondesired. This is the same for cleric spells(whose power is given by the gods) andfor magic-user spells (which siphonenergy directly from the physical multi-verses surging energy fields).

But psionics is different. Psionic powercomes from the mind of the individual.How, then, can we account for the dupli-cation of certain spell effects by psionicpower, and how to account for the world-shaking powers of the disciplines thatpsionic characters and creatures employ?

In order to stay within the bounds ofthe rules as they read, we must say thatthe power of psionics does indeed comefrom the mind of the individual. We cango on to speculate that the brain is verypowerful, and most individuals never usemore than a tiny fraction of the full

Not for everyoneHowever, very few individuals can

The Talent, then, is present in every-body, but for the mass of folks it does notfunction very much. Most peoples latentTalent is represented by their occasionallucky hunches, flashes of insight, and soon. Anything more is beyond them. A fewhave the potential to exploit the power oftheir minds, but cannot unlock its fullpower. These are the characters who havethe requisite ability scores in intelligence,

summon up this latent power in thebrain. All people have such power withinthem, but some beings brains are struc-tured in such a way as to make theseenergies inaccessible to their consciousminds, and most do not have the abilityto consciously tap the power they dohave. By accident, some individuals areable to reach into their minds and inten-tionally exercise this power. These are thepsionics-users.

Duplication of effects is thus explainedthis way. Psionically related spells andpsionic powers that duplicate spell effectsare all energies that affect the brain. Butone can do the same thing in differentways. Detecting magic by spell uses theenergies of the multiverse to feed infor-mation to your mind without strainingyour mind itself; using psionics to do thesame thing involves tapping the resourceof your mind to seize upon a physicalobject and rip out of it what you want toknow about it. In the same way, you canstrike a tuning fork or a piano and hearthe sound, which takes very little effort,or you can give voice to the same pitchyourself, which involves some strain onyour brain and your vocal cords.

capacity of their brains. (That would betrue in the game system just as it is inreality.) This helps to explain how theuse of psionic powers depletes an indi-vidual mentally (and ought to, physi-cally) in a way that spell casting does not.Casting spells is a matter of form andconcentration only; the mind is merely aconduit for the energies involved. Butpsionic power uses mental energy, andeach psionics-user has a finite (but varia-ble from individual to individual)amount of such energy. The psionics-usermust spend his ability points to do histhing, after which he must rest to buildhis capacity back up. And there are limitsto psionic power, too. Such spells aswish, alter reality, and the like call uponenergies beyond the ability of any mortalmind to summon up.

wisdom, and charisma for psionic pow-ers, but have failed to make that near-impossible die roll to make them psionic.

Many player characters have fairly highscores in the psionics-related abilities,enabling them to undertake professionslike magic-user or cleric classes thatallow them (and require them) to employtheir minds in more powerful ways thanmost people, but this still falls short ofemploying psionic energy directly.

And then there are the very few, thevery special ones, who not only havepotential Talent, but by some accident oftheir individual natures are able to tapinto the power rolling around in theirheads. In game terms, these are the luckyfew who had the high ability scores andmade that incredibly difficult die roll.Their Talent is accessible and capable ofbeing developed.

But there is no science of mentalresearch in these legendary times, so eventhe question of how far into their powersthey can go is pretty much an accident.The Players Handbook assigns theircombat modes and potential for acquisi-tion of disciplines in a random manner.Many times, those with great powers(high ability scores) have only a smatter-ing of combat modes and disciplines. Onrare occasions, further powers can beunlocked, as when a psionic uses proba-bility travel to handle a sphere of annihi-lation and the resulting mind wrenchopens up the possibility of a new poweruse for him. But everything is random.Thats why psionics constitutes anappendage to the game system instead ofbeing the foundation of a class untoitself. Its just too random to be developedin an orderly manner.

Ah, but the tantalizing prospects ofresearch! A companion piece to this arti-cle outlines a variant form of psionicswhich does make the Psionicist a classunto himself. But this character would beeven rarer than the already rare regularpsionics-user. The path of the Psionicistis a road seldom travelled. . . . But, moreabout him later.

Psionics is not entirely random. Somestrictures in the rules dictate who can usethese powers, and some questions aboutthose strictures come to mind.

For instance, I have been told thatmonks and druids cannot use psionics. Ifind no reference to this in the presentAD&D rules, but I have been told thatthis is a holdover from the original rules.[Editors note: Monks and druids wereprohibited from having psionics in the

DRAGON 7

Original D&D game rules (EldritchWizardry, p. 2), but this stricture does notapply to the AD&D rules.] And then,there have been some changes in later edi-tions of the Monster Manual, whichchanged the listing under psionic abilityfor elves (for example) from Nil (possi-ble to exist in unusual characters) to justNil. Roger Moore writes in issue #60 ofDRAGON Magazine that the structureof the elven brain precludes the use ofpsionic powers. [Editors note: The ques-tion of whether elves have psionics or nothas proved to be a fluid one. See theSage Advice column hereafter for moreinformation.]

And then we have the puzzling prob-lem of the immunity to psionic attackpossessed by certain creatures and divinebeings. And also the saving-throwbonuses given to certain races and classeswhen attacked with a psionic blast(DMG, p. 78). And the class restrictionson the use of certain disciplines, as listedin the Players Handbook. And whathappens when one (or more) of apsionics-users pertinent ability scoreschanges? Do that characters psionicpowers change accordingly? These aretangled matters, indeed. Lets try to tacklethem one at a time.

1. Who can have psionics: In the AD&Dgame, characters of any class can havepsionic power. No doubt psionics-usingmonks and druids would be rare, but thenpsionic individuals are about as plentifulas hens teeth anyway. The matter of raceis more tangled, particularly as regardselves. Despite the change in the MonsterManual text and Roger Moores pro-nouncement in the magazine, the factremains that some elves do have psionicpowers. Eclavdra, the evil drow organizerof the giant conspiracy in those superla-tive modules culminating in The Vault ofthe Drow, has psionic powers. (The list-ing for drow in the FIEND FOLIOTome says their psionic ability isunknown.) Nevertheless, only the mostunusual of elves would have such powers.If one desires to make elves non-psionicin general, thats okay, but I would sug-gest one additional decree to straighten itout. If left up to me, I would say that allplayer characters, of whatever race, beingunusual individuals in the first place,would be eligible for psionic powers,given the requisite ability scores and asuccessful dice roll.

2. Psionic immunity: Immunity to psi-onic attack does not include immunity tothe attack, or effect, of a psionic disci-pline. It pertains only to the forces of oneof the psionic attack modes. The disci-plines of cell adjustment, domination,ESP, hypnosis, and the like will operateagainst such a creature, although onemust remember that certain individualsget bonuses to saving throws vs. mentalattack forms because of high wisdom.

8 OCTOBER 1983

Non-psionics are already immune to allattack forms except psionic blast becauseof the structure of their minds, althoughcertain situations alter that stipulation.For instance, a non-psionic spell casteremploying a psionically related magicalpower leaves his mind open to a mindthrust attack from a brain mole. Thosecreatures or beings that are immune topsionic attack have minds that simply arenot open to entry in any of the five waysthat psionic combat operates. Typically,such creatures cannot employ psionicpowers, either; their minds just dont runin those channels. No doubt some psionicpowers somewhere could affect them, butno one has yet discovered any way tosummon up the mental energy to do so.Such creatures can, however, leave them-selves open to attack in special circum-stances, as in the example of the brainmole given above.

3. Saving throws for psionic blast: Thisattack mode is a disruptive one, referredto as a shock, like that of receiving stun-ning news which the mind cannot pro-cess. This explains why certain races(elves, dwarves, and halflings) getbonuses on their saving throws vs. thisattack form. The structure of their mindsis such that their brains are more physio-logically adaptable to unusual informa-tion more quickly, and they are steadierin their thinking processes than humans.Thus, they are less likely to be unhingedby the blast. Magic-users and clerics alsoget bonuses in this regard, because oftheir mental training. The other bonusesand penalties listed refer to situationswhere a protective device or procedure isbeing employed, where the individual isunder a state of reduced mental capacity,and where a psionically related spell ordevice is being used which opens up onesmind to psionic receptivity. These requireno further explanation.

4. Discipline restrictions for psionics-users of various classes: I have to admitthat I see little reason for these. Magic-users cannot employ body weaponry,when it seems made to order for them tocover their vulnerability in combat. Cler-ics cannot use expansion or reduction.Thieves cannot use domination, objectreading, or mass domination. Fighters arebanned from empathy and telempathicprojection. For the life of me, I cant tellwhy. The use of a certain disciplinemight be judged to be a bit out of charac-ter for a member of some class, but thesame character is not barred from doingother things that are similar. A magic-user can cast shield and enchanted weap-on spells; a cleric can drink potions ofdiminution and growth; a thief certainlydeals in mind manipulation (being a conartist) and is certainly interested in thepersonal items he filches; fighters aremore involved with raw emotions thananyone else.

But it is the purpose of this article tointerpret the rules if they can be inter-preted. So, well try this: Fighters may notuse the empathic disciplines, because toemploy them, one must be able to masterones own emotions completely, and thusthe fighters training would preclude thedispassionate regard necessary foremploying this discipline. Magic-usersmay not employ body weaponry becausetheir training neglects the physical aspectso much that their minds do not possessthe knowledge needed to guide all of thelittle neurons and cells of their bodies inthe intricate maneuvers necessary to pro-duce the physical alterations. Clerics canneither expand nor reduce because thegods (who are often of unusual size) donot want their loyal henchmen to get theidea that they can use their puny powersto rival the gods. Thieves subtle mindscannot reach the deepest centers of rawdomination, and they are blinded bytheir greed if they try to pick up elusivepsychic traces from the objects they han-dle. Such are possible explanations, but Ithink it would be better to drop all theclass prohibitions on disciplines. Theonly completely consistent rationale forthese restrictions is to say that they arenecessary for the sake of game balance;the gods have so decreed it. But that is notan answer that satisfies the mind.

5. Ability score fluctuations: Certainevents in a characters life can affect hisability scores in intelligence, wisdom, orcharisma, positively or negatively. Thesefluctuations affect psionic ability. Achange in any of these scores reflectssomething happening in the charactersbrain: something damaged, somethingimproved. Thus, if a characters charismais lowered, his psionic ability will belowered accordingly. And so on.

These ability scores are ways of measur-ing the inner resources of the individual.Intelligence is not merely a measure ofcognitive ability, but also a way of gaug-ing the ability of that person to correctlyperceive the outside world. Highly intel-ligent monsters have the ability to seeinvisible objects; this is a function oftheir latent Talent, bound up with theirintelligence.

Wisdom corresponds to intelligence asinner does to outer. The wiser a person is,the more perceptive he is regarding whatgoes on inside the mind and body. This isthe reason for the magical attack adjust-ment accorded to those with high wis-dom, divine beings immunity to certainkinds of spells, and so on. It is a functionof their Talent, latent or operable, whichenables them to react to mind-influencingactions and objects better than the massof folks.

Charisma is far more a mental phe-nomenon than a physical one. It is ameasure of ones presence and effect onothers. Note the divine beings awe/hor-ror power, a product of their unusually

high or low charisma. Consider AdolfHitlers charisma: No one could call himbeautiful but man, did the guy have aneffect on people. This ability to projectyourself outward to others is very much apart of psionic ability.

So much for speculations about thesource and development of psionicpower. It remains, then, to look at thepractical side of things.

How to play with psionicsThe first thing to get straight in using

psionics is the matter of strength pointsand ability points. A psionic characterhas a fixed number of strength points,depending on his ability scores and a diceroll. If the numbers come up 60, then hewill have 60 attack strength points and 60defense strength points. Put together, hehas 120 psionic ability points. He can useonly attack points to attack with, anddefense points to defend with. If he runsout of one or the other, he may find him-self able to attack, but not defend, ordefend but not attack. So far, so good.

The confusion comes from the use ofpsionic disciplines. The PH says, Notethat the employment of these powerscosts psionic strength points, the equiva-lent of 1 point each of attack and defensepoints. Now, does that mean:

A) To detect evil, which costs 2strength points per round, the charac-ter subtracts 1 from his attack strength

and 1 from his defense strength (pre-sumably subtracting evenly, unless onecategory is used up)?

Or, does it mean:B) Psionic strength points consti-

tute a third category of psionic points,each point being equal to 1 each ofattack and defense points, so that todetect evil, the character subtracts 2points of attack strength and 2 pointsof defense strength (or 4 points fromone if the other is exhausted)?

And what about ability points? Theseare not worth 2 strength points apiece. Atotal of 120 psionic ability points ismerely 120 psionic strength points,divided evenly between attack strengthand defense strength. And while weremuddying the waters, what about half-points, if they exist? What about subtract-ing all of the point cost from just onecategory if the other is getting low?

Ive heard of this being played bothways (A and B above), and I do not knowwhat was originally intended when thePH was written. However, having playedwith psionics for quite some time, andthought about it a lot, I offer this resolu-tion: A strength point is a strength pointis a strength point. Ones psionic abilityis measured in total strength points, thisbeing ones attack strength points andones defense strength points addedtogether. Using psionic disciplinesinvolves the expenditure of strength

points which are equivalent to thestrength points talked about in all othercircumstances. In cases where a disciplinecosts 2 strength points, 1 point comesfrom attack strength and 1 point fromdefense strength. One does not have theoption of taking the entire cost from thebetter-supplied category; one must sub-tract the points evenly. This means:

1) One is going to have to reckon withhalf-points, since a discipline that costs 1point must come equally from attack anddefense strength (and remember, possess-ing defense strength point means thatcharacter gets one last defense before theDM shifts to the Psionic Attack UponDefenseless Psionic table); and

2) When one category is depleted, thefull cost comes out of the undepletedcategory. A character with 0 attackstrength points and 20 defense strengthpoints can employ detect good/evil, andafterward he will have 0 attack points and18 defense points. Further clarification:One must use up both categories asevenly as possible. Dimension door costs10 strength points. If you have 15 attackpoints and 2 defense points, you cannotsubtract 5 points from each category;instead, you will exhaust the one categoryand take the remainder from the other,ending up with 7 attack points and 0defense points after the discipline isemployed.

Implementing all of this means that

DRAGON 9

10 OCTOBER 1983

Here, too, recurs the old bugaboo aboutwhat is a strength point. The PH says, asregards recovery of points, Note attackand defense points are considered as strength point, as it is quite possible to

But what about that thought shield?Can one employ it all the time, evenwhile sleeping, and will it interfere withrecovery of points? Can one add thepoints being recovered while at the sametime subtracting the cost of the shield,storing up the difference? And just howmuch does that little beggar cost, any-way? Psionic combat is done by segments,not rounds, which would mean thatthought shield at 2 points per usagewould cost 20 points per round a con-stant drain which even sleeping (at 24points/round, of which only 12 pointswould be recovered defense strength)could not make up for.

Another murky area is in the recoveryof points. Can the psionic character usehis powers while building up hisstrength, or must he cease from usingthem at all while he is recharging his bat-teries? And how does this relate to thedefense mode thought shield, which canbe kept up at all times, unlike the oth-ers? Recovery of points takes place inone-hour periods, and the rate of recoverydepends upon the amount of physical(and presumably mental) exertion thecharacter gives out during that hour.Thats pretty straightforward and easy tounderstand. Roger Moore points out inissue #71 of DRAGON Magazine that therecovery goes on even while using mentalexertion to move in the Astral Plane. Andthats okay: One is not using psionicenergy to move about, just ordinary men-tal effort like everyone else there.

- 7 (cell adjust.) - 7 (heal 15 pts.)39 (new total) 49 (new total)

+12 (sleep 1 hour) +12 (+24 pts. total)51 (new total) 61 (new total)

Recovering psionic points

- 3 (etherealness)67 (new total)

-10 (tower of ironwill enteringsuspected mindflayer lair)

57 (new total)

50 (new total)- 3 (etherealness)

47 (new total)

BALDWIN BANDERSNATCH(140 psionic ability pts.)

Attack Points (70) Defense Points (70)70 (capacity) 70 (capacity)

-20 (psi-fry orcs)

the psionic character is even more bur-dened with record-keeping than othercharacters. I recommend that the playerof a psionic character keep a runningaccount of the characters psionicstrength in double lines to enable him tokeep it all straight. Such an account(including reasons for expenditure ofpoints, which is not necessary in gameplay) may be kept thusly:

have disparate amounts of one or theother of these points after combat. Doesthis mean that recovered points are thatelusive third kind of point worth twoof the others? Does that mean that a dis-cipline costing 2 points/round reallycosts 2 points of attack strength and 2points of defense strength? Recovering 24points in an hour of sleep would seem tomean 24 attack strength half-pointsand 24 defense strength half-points; inother words, dividing the amount recov-ered evenly between the two as the half-points are recovered.

If either a characters attack or defensestrength is restored to its original full-capacity level and other recovered pointsare left to be assigned, they are not ap-plied 1-for-1 to the still-deficient category,but are still only gained on a -for-1basis. For example: A character with psi-onic ability of 150 goes to sleep at a pointwhen his attack strength is 138 and hisdefense strength is 102. If he sleeps forthree hours, he has the opportunity torecover as many as 72 psionic strengthpoints (if that many are usable). He canuse 24 of those points to bring his attackstrength up 12 points, back to maximum,and raise his defense strength by 12 pointsup to 114. This leaves 48 recovered pointsunaccounted for, and these points mustbe considered as two sets of 48 half-points. Since his attack strength is at itsmaximum, the 48 half-points thatmight-have been devoted to that categoryare lost. The 48 half-points that can beapplied to recovering defense strength areused to increase his defense point total byanother 24, up to 138.

Defense mode costs and fatigueTo straighten out the matter of defense

modes, these interpretations are offered. Adefense modes usage cost is expressed inpoints per round when the defense is notbeing used in actual psionic combat.That means that a thought shield will beeffective for a whole round at a cost of 2points (defense points only), so long asthe psionics-user is not attacked psion-ically. When that happens, the defense isburnt up in the attack, and we get intothe high-energy-burning process ofsegment-by-segment combat. Likewise, atower of iron will or intellect fortress,which helps shield the rest of a psionics-users party, will be effective for an entireround at the stated costs, unless that par-ticular application of the defense mode isburnt up by a psionic attack. Whichmeans that the psionics-user doesnt haveto worry about exorbitant defense costsjust for being prepared, and his partydoesnt have to worry about which seg- ment he put the fortress over them vs.which segment that mind flayer gotornery in. The thought shield is the onlydefense mode which the psionics-user canemploy until further notice. All otherdefense modes must be renewed eachround, and this intent must be so stated

to the DM. But the psionic characterusing a shield just subtracts his 2 defensepoints each round automatically as longas he has the shield up.

However, I would say that as long as heis employing a thought shield, he cannotrecover any psionic power. Likewise, ifthe character uses any psionic disciplineor attack/defense mode, any recovery dur-ing that hour is foregone. This meansthat the psionic character cant be 100%prepared at all times. And no, I wouldntallow him to keep up his thought shieldwhile he was sleeping, either.

Another practical matter that is some-times hard to adjudicate in game termsarises from the discipline mind over body.While the description of this power isquite adequate, it and spells such as dis-pel exhaustion raise the whole issue oftiredness and its effect upon performancein the AD&D game. There is not a com-prehensive treatment of this subject in thegame literature, so DMs need to be awareof it and treat it with care. The problemis, why should one use these spells andpowers if there is no penalty for overexer-tion and lack of sleep in the game? Whatpoint is mind over body unless the DMsays, You are now beat, and your hitprobability is -1, with damage -1 accord-ingly. To which the player will reply,Baloney! My character has a constitu-tion of diddley-ump, so he ought to beable to go for 70-odd hours without rest!The DMG has some things to say aboutexhaustion in certain circumstances, butin general, the whole problem is dumpedin the DMs lap. Be sensitive and be firm.And either make those player charactersuse up the resources theyre holding back,or force them to break off pursuing yourharried monsters and rest.

From here, we can go on to considerhow psionics are employed in combat.But first, a word or three is necessary onthe concept of level of mastery. ThePH states flatly, The level of mastery ofany discipline equals the level of expe-rience of the character who possesses itunless otherwise specified.

Levels of mastery and combat

This is official. It also makes no sense.It means that a character with 1 majorand 3 minor disciplines would not receivethe major discipline until he reaches the7th level of experience, and therefore, hewould automatically acquire that majordiscipline at the 7th level of mastery,which is pretty hard to swallow. And notethat no major disciplines are going to be.acquired by anybody before 5th level, atlowest (in a case where the character is toreceive 2 minor and 1 major discipline).Therefore, no major discipline shouldhave any level of mastery listed below 5th;however, lots of major disciplines havelevels of mastery listed in the range from1-4 inclusive.

Should psionic characters merely jumpto the 5th level of mastery (or higher) the

first time they acquire said major disci-pline? This is not an illustration ofunreasonable rules: these are rules thatare blatantly contradictory. As a sug-gested resolution of this problem, here isa new way of interpreting level of mas-tery: The level of mastery of any disci-pline for a particular character equals thenumber of experience levels the characterhas attained while possessing it, startingthe count at the level where the disciplinewas first acquired. Thus, the character ofthe preceding example, when he reachesthe 7th level of experience, has one minordiscipline which he exercises at 7th levelof mastery (the one he started with), oneminor discipline which he exercises at 5thlevel of master, another minor disciplinewhich he exercises at 3rd level of mastery,and a newly acquired major disciplinewhich he exercises at 1st level of mastery.

Thats the only way to get all the datato make sense together. Multi-classedcharacters might find it easier to choosewhich class they will use for this crite-rion. And now, on to psionic combat.

Psionic combat is really of two differ-ent types: when a psionic is involved incombat with non-psionics, and when psi-onics are battling other psionics. Whenpsionic characters battle each other, theadversaries get into their combat trancesand grab at each others minds, nearlyoblivious to all else, exchanging mentalswipes at each other. Their cohorts

efforts are needed to shield them frommagical or physical attack, since they aregoing to be even more vulnerable to thesedangers than an unarmored magic-userattempting to cast a spell.

However, most likely a psionic attack-ing a bunch of psionics will be fightingwith other means than his attack modes,or maybe mixing psionic attacks withmagical or physical attacks, and thats adifferent kettle of fish. In addition, onemust remember that psionic-vs.-psioniccombat is moderated in segments, where-as normal combat is conducted in rounds.There must be a way of meshing the twofor occasions when a psionic is employ-ing his powers in a melee with non-psionic foes.

The first question, then, is: How muchcan you do in a single round? Sure, itonly takes 1 segment to hurl a psionicblast, but then do you have the rest of theround to take swipes with your sword?How long does it take to perform a disci-pline: 1 segment, as for an attack mode?Are psionic characters vulnerable andhelpless when using a discipline? No onewho has conducted a melee with all thesefactors going at once is insensitive towhat Im trying to get across. The key tounderstanding it all is the combat trancethat psionics get into when they fightother psionics.

When a psionic is engaged in mentalcombat with another psionic, he enters a

DRAGON 11

state of near-total concentration. Whilehe is in this trance, he cannot normallyattack or defend himself, and is an easytarget for normal attacks. But it is thisconcentration that enables him to employhis powers by the segment, rather than bythe round. He can still use his powers,but in a more limited fashion, if he doesnot go into that trance state (see below).

While in the trance, he can employ adefense mode every segment, and simul-taneously either throw out an attackmode or employ a discipline, such asdimension door, to escape. The durationof the discipline is not speeded up accord-ingly, however.

When a psionic is fighting non-psionicopponents, he does not (and cannot)achieve this combat trance, and the use ofhis powers more closely parallels the cast-ing of spells by magic-users and clerics,or the use of innate spell-like abilities bycreatures possessing them. He can main-tain a defense mode, at the stated cost, fora full round instead of just a segment(just in case he is attacked psionically),and can use an attack mode or a disci-pline the same way a caster or scroll-useremploys a spell with this difference:While spells (and disciplines) come lastin a round, psionic attack modes comefirst, simultaneous with missile fire.

The psionics-user cannot employ bothan attack mode and a discipline in thesame round. He also has the option of

maintaining a psionic defense mode andattacking normally, hand-to-hand or withmissiles, etc. Taking damage will spoil adiscipline by breaking the users concen-tration, just as a magic-users spell wouldbe botched if he were hit, and the pointcost will be expended anyway. But, tak-ing damage will not disrupt attack anddefense modes; they are engaged and dis-engaged, and take effect, too quickly fornormal attacks to have any effect on theirusability.

So far, so good. Now, when a psionic isengaged with a mixed force of psionicand non-psionic characters, he has theoption of going into a combat trance,which will persist for the entire round, orof maintaining his defense mode(s) andusing either disciplines or physicalattacks, or the one allowed attack modeper round, prior to shifting his attentionto normal combat. If the psionic charac-ter is one who gets multiple attacks perround, he will be able to use an attackmode and still get in one of his physicalattacks, whether the specific target of theattacks is psionic or not.

Meanwhile, his psionic opponent mayvery well be content to go into a combattrance and pound the other psionicsdefenses. In this case, the psionic charac-ter attacking physically is still subject tothe effects of 10 psionic attacks per round(one per segment) from the opposingpsionics-user. It should be noted thatpsionic-vs.-psionic combat is an awe-somely depleting affair. Most fullexchanges will only last a round, ormerely part of a round, before one or theother of the adversaries is stripped of psi-onic power and defeated.

Another hairy situation is multiplepsionic operations, where two or morecharacters link minds and fight under thedirection of the lead character. This is nottoo difficult to adjudicate, although itpresents a problem for the poor non-psionics in their party who are trying tokeep them from getting killed while theydo it.

In general, a psionics-user will be atthe head of a party of creatures and, beingsmarter than the average, will attempt to

Once the psionic wearer is attackedpsionically, the helms automatic towerabsorbs the first attack (without anystunning of the attacker), then lapses into

A psionic character wearing a helm oftelepathy, of course, does not get a savingthrow vs. the blast, but rather finds him-self in psionic combat. What, then,happens when a psionic wearing a helmof telepathy is attacked with a blast?What advantages does he get, and whathappens to the attacker? No one knows.But I would say that the helm of tele-pathy, when worn by a psionic character,radiates a tower of iron will (the effects ofwhich are confined to the person wearingit) which will last until he is attackedpsionically. The helm expends nostrength points to do this, and it saves thepsionic wearer from having to keep up adefense all the time.

Psionic characters get saving throws, ofcourse, against psionic disciplines flungat them. But its a little different situationwhen a psionic blast is hurled at a party,when only one or two of its members arepsionic. In that case, the non-psioniccharacters make their regular savingthrows, while any psionic characters inthe party find themselves engaged in psi-onic combat, and must decide whether torespond by going into a combat trance orputting up defenses and reacting in someother way.

The combat system in the DMG flowspretty well, until you get in the situationof combining psionic combat with regu-lar melee. Then the segment-by-segmentsystem of hidden resolves, tabulation ofresults, and so on can really bog down agroup of gamers. I recommend splittingthe psionic activity into two parts of 5segments each, placing them at thebeginning and the end of the round anddoing them en masse then. It isntauthentic, but it keeps the players of non-psionic characters from getting boredwhile the psionic-users have it out.

Combat combinations

use the others as protection to cover him-self. A psionic magic-user with a guardcompany of orcs, for instance, will prob-ably begin an encounter with a magicdevice and/or an attack by his troops,reserving his psionic attack for situationswhere its use is imperative. For one thing,he cant direct his troops if hes in atrance, and for another thing, unless heknows theres a psionic character in hisopponents party, why should he exposehimself as a psionic and risk that combat?(Keep in mind the disadvantages of psi-onic combat.) Chances are, the psionicleader will hold his powers in reserveunless he really needs to use them. Afterall, if he depletes his powers too rapidly,who will save him when his orcs aretrounced? As in all such situations, agood leader doesnt jump to the forefrontof the fray; he saves himself for the deci-sive moment, if he can.

12 OCTOBER 1963

quiescence while the wearer puts up hisown defenses. The helm allows the psi-onic wearer to attack and defend as if hewere one category higher on the combatmatrices than he really is. Thus, if hispsionic strength was 24, he would attackas if it were 26-50, and if he has beenstripped of all psionic strength, he wouldstill defend on the Psionic Attack UponDefenseless Psionic table as if he hadfrom 10-59 strength points left. Thiswont save him forever, but it aint bad.

The helm, of course, also adds 40strength points to the psionic wearerstotal as long as he wears it. Other items,such as certain ioun stones, will alsogrant the psionic character extra points(different ioun stones and such things asa pearl of wisdom will affect his abilityscores, and thus his psionic strength total,while he posesses them).

These extra points are split evenlybetween attack and defense, and areemployed just as the characters naturalstrength points are, with the exception oftheir mode of recovery. The extra pointsbestowed on a character by a magic itemare recovered separately from the charac-ters natural strength points (but at thesame time). As long as the magic item isnot in use, it is resting and will recover5 points per hour. Using the item for anypurpose other than merely as armor (aswith a helm of telepathy or similar sort ofitem) will negate any recovery during that

Anyone could guess that it was themind flayer who slammed you psioni-cally and not the bugbears with him. Andit would be fairly obvious which is thepsionic character in an opposing party, ifone figure hangs back from the attack butdoesnt seem to be casting a spell.

Further questions on psionic-vs.-psionic combat: When someone employsa psionic blast against what he assumes isa non-psionic party, would he know thathe had also (accidentally, perhaps)attacked a psionics-user? Would he beable to single out which individual in theparty is the psionic one? Would the psi-onic character being attacked be able toknow which of the individuals confront-ing him has hit him with the blast? Inpsionic combat in general, can a psionicknow from whom certain attacks come,and can he direct his attacks toward anindividual if he doesnt know whichindividual is attacking him? Thisbecomes important in psionic melee,where multiple psionic characters oneither side have elected not to link up.

More complex questions

entire hour. The same applies to thestones. Extra points added by increasing aplayers ability scores, however, are con-sidered natural strength, and aresimply added to his normal total and re-covered in the normal way, as long as theitems are in his possession.

But then again, who says you have tosee a psionic character to engage him incombat? The psionic combat trance oper-ates from mind to mind, independent ofvision. One can engage in psionic combatin total darkness and be aware of themind(s) with which one is engaged, solong us those minds are also still engaged.If one of the psionic characters breaks offthe attack and an attack is not imme-diately pressed home against him, hestands a good chance of being lost in thedarkness or in a crowd.

Yes, an attacking psionics-user wouldknow he has blasted another psionics-user; he would feel the recoil of energyfrom contacting that mind. But he wouldnot necessarily know immediately whichof his foes was the psionic one, in orderto direct his henchmen to attack thatcharacter physically. Of course, he neednot know which foe is the psionics-userin order to continue the psionic combat.The defender will have no problem realiz-ing hes being attacked (and if hes notready, he may be in real trouble), but isunder the same restrictions as far as locat-ing his opponent by sight; the identity ofthe psionics-user may not be visuallyobvious, but psionic combat could beconducted without the defender knowingfor sure whom hes battling.

In psionic melee, the opportunities forconfusion are wonderful indeed. Smarterpsionics will close their eyes, go into their

DRAGON 13

And, it should not go without sayingthat the party is of great benefit to thepsionic character as well, for at thosetimes when he is under a psionic attack towhich the other party members areimmune, he needs their assistance andprotection.

At this point, some words are in orderabout the role and strategy of the psioniccharacter in an adventuring party. Thepsionic character is of great benefit to therest of the party, especially with his abili-ties of cell adjustment, psionic blast, andthe various means of detecting and prog-nosticating things. Others must use upprecious spells to do this, but the psioniccharacter gets his strength back morequickly than spell casters do, and can per-form the same action as many differenttimes in a day as he wants, subject to theavailability of strength points.

If someone is killed or controlled bypsionic power, that phenomenon isapparent to the one doing the killing orcontrolling, Psychic wounds and the likeare not apparent to the inflictor. And if apsionic character breaks off an attack andflees in the dark, the pursuing psionicmay easily lose him, for without constantmind contact, he is reduced to castingabout mentally with attacks to try tolocate his prey.

combat trance, and launch wide-areaattacks that allow them to hit severalminds at once, so as to know what theyreup against. They will be able to distin-guish the individual mental signature ofeach mind, so in a dark warren of caves,they will be able to keep track of howmany minds they are engaging. It getsconfusing when the combat is combinedwith sight. In such a case, one may directan attack at an individual and then findout that person was not the one youintended to attack, and in fact he is notattacking you; hes engaging someoneelse. In psionic melee, everyone attacksand defends simultaneously, and it is verypossible for one individual to attack sev-eral psionics-users and be attacked psion-ically by several others, while someonegets off scot-free in the middle of thewhole affair.

Making thoughtful choicesIt is generally a bad idea to go about

blowing away all and sundry with onespsionic powers. This advertises yourpresence and wastes energy that youmight need later on (the accuracy of thisobservation depends greatly upon thenumber of psionic encounters and adven-tures the DM works with). But, keepingup a thought shield while nothing muchis happening and checking out variousobjects or areas with judicious applica-tion of ones psionic powers doesnt takea lot of energy and keeps most of the restin reserve.

The best general defense if you dontknow what is going to be thrown at youmight well be mental barrier. It doesntcost much and is reasonably effectiveagainst most attacks. The best generaloffense if you dont know what to hitsomebody with is probably ego whip, forthe same reason: it doesnt cost much andhits most defenses well. The list belowgives the best possible relationshipsbetween attack and defense modes:

Best attacks:vs. mind blank mind thrust or

ego whip.vs. thought shield psionic blast or

id insinuation.vs. mental barrier, tower of iron will,or intellect fortress id insinuation.

Best defenses:vs. psionic blast or psychic

crush tower of iron will.vs. mind thrust or ego whip

intellect fortress.vs. id insinuation mind blank.

Note, however, that short of having oneof the opposing combatants yell out,Here comes an ego whip, theres noway of knowing for sure what attack is onthe way. Which all leads up to sayingthat, if the DM is running his psionicencounters right, being one of the luckyfew is no bed of begonias. It can berough to be a psionic character, and thatought to be made apparent to the players.After all, you can be attacked by so manymore monsters! . . .

14 OCTOBER 1983

. . And those monsters are everywhere.Some, like the brain mole, are ever watch-ful for anyone exercising psionicallyrelated powers in their vicinity. Some areadventurer types, just like the partymembers, with nothing to set them apartfrom normal encounters until its toolate. And some, like the mind flayer, havepsi-fry menace written all over them.

Disciplinary mattersThere remains only the necessary clari-

fication of how certain psionic powersoperate. First of these, and an obviouscandidate for Most Useful Psionic Disci-pline, is cell adjustment. With thispower, one can heal lost hit points, curediseases, and be voted best buddy of yourband of berserkers. The question here is,how come one cant use cell adjustmentto damage as well as heal? It would seemsensible that if one can repair, one canwreck. Sure, you cant create a disease,since this discipline doesnt give you thepower to create life forms that causeanother to sicken. But if you can killdisease-causing organisms, why cant youkill healthy cells? The answer must bethat one doesnt kill disease cells, butrather the discipline amplifies the bodysrecuperative powers powers whichboth repair damaged cells and also com-bat disease. Speeded-up (practicallyinstantaneous) meiosis provides new cellsby normal division and production ofantibodies to fight disease. Such a gift canonly work for health, not harm.

And then theres body weaponry, whichlasts as long as one concentrates upon it.The only problem here is that one is try-ing to concentrate and engage in activemelee at the same time, something whichspell casters obviously cannot do. Theanswer is that this is not a spell, nor evenan attack mode, which would normallyrequire one to enter a combat trance. Thisis the kind of concentration that a superbbasketball player has when runningdown the court full tilt, totally aware ofhimself and the actions of nine otherpeople, seemingly without effort. It fol-lows, then, that there is no possibility ofbreaking the users concentration short ofa psionic blast, and even then a gooddefense mode will prevent any bad effects.

A word also needs to be said about psi-onic invisibility. Unlike the spell effect ofthe same nature, this is not a general sortof invisibility. Like the Players Hand-book says, it is weaker in some ways andmore powerful in others. It cannot bedetected the way magical invisibility can.But then, it is more limited in its abilityto fool others.

Mind bar is also an incredibly usefulpiece of equipment to counter allforms of magical possession dangers, aswell as foiling charms and such. The DMwho intends to do a lot of psionics oughtto brush up on the whole subject of mag-ical mind attacks, including magic jars,ghosts, trap the soul, and so on.

Perhaps the most difficult discipline toadjudicate is the minor discipline of pre-cognition. Unlike augury, the 2nd-levelcleric spell, precognition gives definiteanswers about the future. This is a pain,because then the DM has to make surethat things fit into this prearranged pat-tern, which can involve a lot of fudgingon dice rolls and a lot of labor lost after itwas spent setting up an encounter. It is afurther pain because the DM must assignthe probability of success almost by intui-tion. Players are sure to argue about it,and its generally a bummer.

The best thing to do is to work onones style of refereeing. I never admit tofudging on dice rolls, but I have beenknown to shave points for both monstersand party members (without saying thatswhat Im doing) if I think that the meleeis not going well. Certain monstersshould never be too easy, and certain stu-pendously bad things really ought not tohappen to the 1st-level player characteryoure trying to show a good time. If youcan learn to manipulate the dice resultswhile retaining your basic fairness andintegrity, then you can learn to handlesuch things as precognition, withoutseeming too obvious about it. Your play-ers may even grant you semi-legendarystatus at your sage-like ability to foretellhow an encounter will go, if you can pullthe strings with a straight face and givethem the impression that the dice arebeing honestly interpreted. And a littlerespect never hurt any DM. Just dont letanyone get the impression you can bewheedled into giving somebody a break.

The same basic principle applies tomoderating the use of sensitivity to psy-chic impressions. It is up to the DM tocommunicate what the psionic charactersenses. Mostly, this will be vague, fleetingimpressions, but the DM can use this toadvance (or retard) the accumulation ofinformation by the player characters.

In the matter of planar travel, certaindisciplines can be employed to admit oneto planes and places other than the PrimeMaterial. Dimension door and dimensionwalk enable one to slip through the key-holes of reality to get places. The door isstated to be in some relationship with theAstral Plane (at least, one can get stuckthere), but dimension walk involves nodangers like that, nor does it allow egressinto other planes.

Etherealness is a free ticket to the InnerPlanes for bag and baggage. Probabilitytravel is an improved form of astral pro-jection, both of which are very handy.Astral projection, like the astral spellemployed by a cleric or magic-user, pro-jects only an astral body, leaving thephysical body at home, connected to theprojector by a silver cord.

Unlike the spell of similar effect, astralprojection permits only the individualpossessing the power to go into the AstralPlane. On the other hand, the psioniccharacter using probability travel can get

to just about anywhere, Inner or OuterPlanes included, can take friends along,and can transport himself physically intoother planes. Only a few items will workso well. After all, its nice to know whenyoure astrally projecting that yourchance of being really killed is small;whats an astral body among friends?Going astral with ones physical bodywhile probability travelling is thus risk-ier. But the consolation is, you can takemore than just magic items with you onyour trip, so youll have it when you dis-embark somewhere else: stuff like armor,food, regular weapons, letters of recom-mendation, and so forth.

The last wordTo sum up: This article has endeavored

to provide a rationale for some of therules that govern psionics in the AD&Dgame, along with a general theory ofwhat psionics is all about. Weve alsotried to unsnarl some tangled questionsof procedures and interpretations in theuse of psionics. The last word, then, mustbelong to the role of psionics in the gameitself.

The psionic monster is in the game toadd excitement and variety. When theplayers (through their characters) risknothing but being worn down by melee,they will eventually get bored. Sure, ifyou toss psionic monsters at them, theplayers will complain (at least at first)

that youre perpetrating some awful actsagainst their characters. But the playerswill only fully appreciate the adventureand the larger campaign if their charac-ters escape with their booty by the skin oftheir teeth.

The psionic non-player character isthere for adventurers to interact with.Psionic ability adds all kinds of hiddenfactors to an encounter. While someAD&D campaigns may be not improperlyaffected by some NPC magic-user stroll-ing down the avenue turning people intofrogs, virtually no one in the campaignshould advertise his psionic powers. Letyour player characters find out the hardway (if they ever do find out) that so-and-so is one of them.

And most importantly, the psionicplayer character exists to give the player achance to try on yet another fascinatingset of abilities, and to do battle withunmentionable monsters. The only cau-tion that can be issued here is the cardinalrule of the whole game system: Dontupset the game balance. If you are goingto have psionic characters in the cam-paign, increase the number (and ferocity)of the psionic monsters they will encoun-ter. But dont add psionic nightmares toevery dungeon and keep your playersexplore. Let the possibility of psionicsalways be in the background, lurkingaround, waiting to surprise, horrify, anddelight them.

DRAGON 15

How often should a character check for possession of psionicabilities?

Once when the character first begins play; afterward, psionicschecks are made only when powerful magics or special circum-stances permit this to occur; see the next question.

If a non-psionic character has his intelligence, wisdom, or cha-risma increased by powerful magics (tomes, wishes, etc.), wouldthis allow for a new chance to become psionic?

Yes. The benefits of a tome of clear thought, leadership andinfluence, or understanding (which raise intelligence, wisdom,and charisma respectively) automatically allow for a new chanceto become psionic. A wish spell, properly worded, would auto-matically give a character psionic ability, as long as the recipienthas an intelligence, wisdom, or charisma score of at least 16. Theaction of a deity (far rarer than even a wish or a magical tome)would automatically give any character psionic ability, regard-less of his ability scores. Increases in ability scores which occurnaturally, such as through normal aging, would also allow for a

later check if the character was not already psionic.As an example, consider the character described on p. 110 of

the Players Handbook, with Int 17, Wis 12, and Cha 17. Supposethe player fails to roll 97 or higher on the characters initial psi-onics check, and the character later gains a point of intelligenceso that score is now 18. The player would then make a new checkfor the characters psionic potential, adding the additional bonusfor the extra point of intelligence to the dice roll, so that now aresult of 95 or higher is needed.

Also, it is possible for a characters psionic strength to beautomatically increased, if an increase in an ability score raisesthat score higher than 16. If the character in the above examplestarted with a charisma score of 16, and was determined to havepsionic ability, he would receive no doubling bonus on theroll for psionic ability points, since only one of his ability scoresis higher than 16. But if a later event raised the characters cha-risma to 17, he would immediately benefit from the change byhaving his psionic ability doubled.

Can a character lose his psionic potential if he suffers adecrease in one of the three important ability scores?

It is possible for a character to be stripped of psionic ability bythe loss of one or more points of intelligence, wisdom, or cha-risma. If the change leaves the character without a score of 16,then the character fails to meet the minimum requirement forpsionic potential, and any psionic ability he once possessed isnow lost.

If a character suffers a decrease in one of the three importantability scores, but still meets the minimum requirement (onescore of 16 or higher), he has not lost his psionic potential, butwill possibly suffer a decrease in his psionic strength point total.If the ability score in question was formerly 13 or higher (allow-ing a bonus to the psionic strength roll), then that bonus is lostand must be subtracted from the characters psionic strength. If acharacter originally had scores of 16 or higher in two of the threeability areas (permitting the doubling or quadrupling of thenumber of strength points) and suffered a loss that brought oneof those scores below 16, then both the doubling (or quadru-pling) bonus and the single bonus point originally awarded forthat score must be subtracted from the characters psionicstrength.

16 OCTOBER 1983

Shouldnt psionic attacks or defenses put up by experiencedand high-level psionic characters be more effective than thoseput up by lower-level characters or creatures?

No; just as a sword blow does the same amount of damagewhether the weapon is wielded by a 20th-level Lord or a 1st-levelVeteran (not counting a certain characters bonuses or penalties),the psionic attacks and defenses of all psionic characters workthe same way and with the same potential power.

No; psionic defenses will go automatically into action once anattack from another psionic creature gets under way, unless thecharacter has exhausted all of his defense points. The psionicattack on defenseless psionic table is only used when the targetcharacter or creature has no defense strength left at that time.

If a psionic character is surprised by a psionic monster, doesthe monster get to attack the character as if the character weredefenseless?

Yes, its possible. One wish spell, properly worded, would be-stow immunity to one particular psionic attack mode; the endresult of five such wishes would be a character possessing whatthe DEITIES & DEMIGODS Book calls Class VI psionics.The character is immune to the effects of any psionic attackmode, and cannot possess any psionic powers from that timeforward but the character is still subject to the effects of psi-onic disciplines employed by others. If a character tries to getaround this by wording a wish so as to obtain immunity fromattack while retaining his own psionic powers, something awfulis bound to happen as a result; a wish of this sort can never begranted. It would be possible to stop short, using four wishesto get immunity from all but one particular attack mode and stillretain ones own psionic powers, but vulnerability to that singleattack mode could turn out to be an Achilles heel.

Is it possible for a character to use a wish spell to becomeimmune to psionic attack?

Human, dwarven, and halfling player characters are allowedthe chance to have psionic ability. Initially, in early editions ofthe Monster Manual, elves (or at least leader-type elves) were alsoincluded in this group. But in later editions of the AD&D books,elves were defined as non-psionic. Based on this ruling, RogerMoores article on elves in issue #60 of DRAGON Magazinestated that elves had a brain structure that prohibited them fromhaving psionics. However, judging by E. Gary Gygaxs com-ments and additions in later articles (most notably the FeaturedCreatures and Astral Plane articles in #67), it would seem, afterall, that elves can have psionic ability. Thus, player-characterelves should be allowed the chance to be psionic, and so, byassumption, should half-elves.

Which player character races in the AD&D game can possesspsionic ability?

The DM can roll a d6 for any NPC in question; if a 1 comesup, then a roll of 00 on percentile dice (or 98-00 for a member ofthe magic-user or cleric class) indicates that this NPC has psionicability. This should make psionic NPCs rare enough so that thegame balance is not disrupted.

How can the chance for psionic abilities be quickly assessedfor NPCs who have no previously noted scores for intelligence,wisdom, and charisma?

Can a psionic character cast a spell while employing any sortof psionic power (attack, defense, or discipline)?

A psionic character can maintain a thought shield defensewhile fighting, casting a spell, or being involved in some otherstrenuous activity. This wont work for any other defense modeor any attack mode, however; a psionic character cannot mount aphysical attack and a psionic attack at the same time (althoughcertain monsters, like the intellect devourer, can), and also can-not employ both a spell and a psionic discipline simultaneously,since its impossible to fully concentrate on both activities.

If a psionic spell caster has a thought shield defense up whilecasting a spell, would a psionic attack made against the charactercause the spell to be lost, or would the defense hold and allowthe spell to be cast to completion?

The spell casting will continue uninterrupted as long as thethought shield defense holds out. If a physical attack takes place,of course, the spell will be ruined; the same applies if the spellcaster is made subject to certain disciplines such as telekinesis,body weaponry, and the like. If the defender runs out of defensestrength and takes damage from a psionic attack, this will alsoruin any spell the defender may have been casting at the time.

If a character is slain by psychic crush, can he be raised orresurrected? Would he still then possess psionic abilities?

The character can be raised or resurrected, but all psionic abil-ities will be permanently lost.

The Players Handbook states that thought shield is the onlydefense against psychic crush, but the charts in the DungeonMasters Guide contradict this. Why?

Anyone whos confused on this point has misinterpreted thestatement in the PH. The psionic character employing psychiccrush as his attack mode can only use a thought shield defense,or else must have no defense mode up at all. The character orcreature being attacked by psychic crush may use any defensemode at his disposal.

What does the Players Handbook mean when it says thatthought shield can be kept up at all times, unlike other defenses?

Thought shield, like all psionic defense modes, may be acti-vated even when there is no psionic attack in progress against thedefender. However, thought shield is the only defense thatmay be used when the character is engaged in active pursuits likephysical fighting, spell casting, escaping, etc. Once put intooperation, a thought shield does not require attention to con-tinue to be maintained but, by the same token, the user mustspecifically declare his intention to turn off the shield whendeactivation is desired; otherwise, his defense points will keepdwindling automatically.

During multiple psionic operations, when two or more psi-onic characters are transferring strength points back and forth,how are the points distributed after the operation is ended?

The points that were transferred in series among the psioniccharacters are all dissipated and lost to all characters, but may berecovered in time. It is possible for a character to be left with nopsionic strength points after an operation of this sort, but thatstrength can be regained in the usual manner.

The line at the bottom of p. 77 of the DMG (Damage accru-ing beyond the point . . .) is unclear. Can you explain?

This line refers to the attack strength point reductions taken asa result of using the Psionic Attack Upon Defenseless Psionictable; if the defender runs out of attack points because of thesereductions, then real hit points are deducted instead.

Can psionic creatures or persons sense the presence of otherpsionic beings? If so, at what range does this ability function?

According to the DMG (p. 182), it is apparent that the use ofany psionic talent or attack/defense mode will attract the noticeof other psionic beings in the vicinity. The attracted creatures

The answer to the first question depends in large part on howyour campaign is run with respect to players (and characters)knowledge of hit-point totals. If the DM is the only person withthis information, then it is not necessary to reveal any hit-pointinformation to a character employing (or being helped by) thecell adjustment discipline. If, as a matter of procedure, playersare made aware of their characters (and perhaps others) current

Could someone possessing the cell adjustment disciplinebecome aware of his own or someone elses hit-point total byusing this power? How long does it take to use this discipline, interms of casting time?

Nice try, but no go. The word animal in this use should beinterpreted the same as for spells like speak with animals andanimal friendship that is, animals are basically normal, non-fantastic creatures such as apes, bears, cats, dogs, elephants, andso on (Players Handbook, p. 46, speak with animals descrip-tion). They are of at least animal intelligence but not abovesemi-intelligent rating (p. 54, animal friendship description).Generally, any sentient creature with a measurable intelligencescore of 4 or lower can be affected by animal telepathy and atextremely high levels of mastery, even communication withintelligent plants is possible. Although some humanoids couldqualify under this 4 or lower definition, the term animal inthis usage does not encompass humans or humanoids.

Can the psionic discipline animal telepathy be used to com-municate with humans? After all, humans are animals.

Why cant thieves use domination in the first place? Well, asArthur Collins points out in an article elsewhere in this maga-zine, it may be rationalized that domination is a concept alien tothe thieving frame of mind; thieves do not desire or intend tocontrol their victims, merely to rob them, taking their goodsunseen (preferably) and without the victims knowledge. Stealingis an art to thieves, and domination is the antithesis of that art.

Yes. The instant that the character crosses over to begin earn-ing experience as a thief, he is subject to the benefits and restric-tions of that class one of those restrictions being that a thiefcannot possess the psionic discipline of domination. The disci-pline is lost, and the character may not replace it with anotherability. This principle may be applied to any instance involvinga two-classed character and a discipline that is prohibited to oneof the two classes.

If a fighter gains the discipline of domination and thenswitches to the thief class (as a bard would do), would this char-acter lose the domination power?

To a limited extent, psionic characters and creatures (particu-larly those with a high psionic ability score and those with thesensitivity to psychic impressions discipline) can judge howgreat an amount of psionic strength points were being used bythe detected being at the moment of detection, but this assess-ment will be very rough, and is not necessarily a good clue tohow psionically powerful the detected being is.

Note that a psionic character or creature not expending psi-onic strength points cannot be detected at that time. Also, abeing using mind bar or the discipline of invisibility cannot bedetected while employing those skills.

The range of this ability, which is innate and common to allpsionic characters and creatures, is 1 (30 feet) per level or hit dieof the detecting creature; certain monsters (su monsters and grayooze, for example) are able to detect psionics-users at distancesgreater than normal, but these are exceptions.

will not instinctively sense the nature of the power(s) beingemployed, or exactly how powerful (psionically) the source ofthe power is, but they will be aware of the general direction fromwhich the psionic emanations came and will be able, for shortperiods of time, to track accurately back in the direction of theother psionic character or creature. This tracking back can bedone for as long as a turn (10 minutes) if a true psionic talentwas used, or for a round (1 minute) if the energy came from amagical effect that resembles a psionic power.

18 OCTOBER 1983

DRAGON 19

hit-point totals, then the DM is obliged to give out specific hit-point information in the course of moderating the use of thisdiscipline.

Even when hit-point totals arent common knowledge, thepsionics-user knows how many hit points he can restore with asingle application of the discipline, and he knows that each hitpoint of damage healed costs 1 psionic strength point. Hedoesnt know or need to know how many hit points ofdamage the recipient of the healing is suffering from; if andwhen the recipient is restored to his full original hit-point total,no more benefit can be gained from cell adjustment but ifnone of the characters has a way of being sure when full restora-tion of hit points is complete, the user of the discipline may verylikely spend strength points th