The Psion - My First Try

I'm going to keep trying to post until it lets me!

This is my first try at making a new class...  I'm mostly just musing out some thoughts at this point, this is a very early tentative idea and I'm sort of flailing around.  Also, I did NOT expect this post to go through, this is my third attempt to post it.

So, if you all don’t mind, I think I’m going to give my first attempt at a Dungeon World Hack a try, here.  Now, I’ve seen lots of people mention that they’d like to make a Hack of the Psion, but no completed DW Psions yet, so, with that in mind, I’m gonna try and work on something here.

So, the first question about the Psion is “What is important about the Psion?”, “What part of this class is indispensable?”  When Sage and Adam asked that question about the Druid, they came to the conclusion that, while Druids have always been spellcasters, spellcasting was always a vestigial trait and shapeshifting was the real Core of Druidism.  So, while Druids can gain access to spells if they want to, all Druids can change their shape.  Spells are not necessary.

We can’t say that about Psions.  Psions are spellcasters; that’s their niche.  What has always separated them from Wizards, in Fantasy Gaming, has been a different spell-usage mechanic.  They’ve always been differently flavored Wizards with power points.  So, with that in mind, we can’t get rid of their Spellcasting power without making them just plain not a Psion.  But we have to make them more than just Wizards with crystals, or they’re boring and unnecessary, and I’d hate to add something unnecessary to Dungeon World.

So, the first Basic Move I’m considering is a Spellcasting move that works differently from the Cleric and Wizard.  To emulate the classic Psion’s Power Points, the Psion I’m imagining uses Hold much more liberally than the other classes, collecting it and pooling it from multiple Moves to achieve his effects.

The idea I have here is that some Moves will add more Hold to the pool, letting you go longer in battle without having to “Charge up”.  Additionally, I’m thinking some Powers/Moves will allow you to expend more than 1 Hold to Augment their power and increase their Effects in some ways.

This is just a brainstorm, something I couldn’t get out of my head while I was lying in bed this morning trying to go back to sleep.  Anyone have any thoughts?

-----------------

Look
Choose one for each:
Empty Eyes, Glowing Eyes, or Intense Eyes
Bald Head, Weird Head, or Wild Hair
Fine Clothes, Flowing Robes, or Tattered Rags
Strong Body, Tattooed Body, or Wasted Body

Stats
Assign these scores to your stats:
17 (+2), 15 (+1), 13 (+1), 11 (+0), 9 (+0), 8 (-1)
You start with 4+Constitution HP.
Your base damage is d4.

Gear
Your Load is 5+Str.

Bonds
Fill in the name of one of your companions in at least one.
_____________ doesn't trust me.
_____________ is a lesser mind who cannot possibly understand me.
I see potential inside _____________ that they cannot see.
When I dream about _____________, the things I see worry me.

Basic Moves

Meditate
When you spend uninterrupted time (an hour or so) in a a state of deep relaxation, ????

Manifest Psi
The Psion calls on his reserve of personal power to influence the world.  Roll+INT.  On a 10+, take 3 Hold.  On a 7-9, take 1 Hold and select one of the following:
• You are unharmed
• You are undistracted
• You are unnoticed
You can spend 1 Hold to manifest a Psionic Power that you know.

Psionic Powers
Psions are masters of the will, bending reality with simple intent.  Psions start play with the following three powers:
???

Discern Metarealities
When you make a Discern Realities Move, you may add the following two questions to the list that you may ask:
•  What is happening here that I cannot sense?
•  What here should I know about?

Advanced Moves

Autohypnosis - No need to spend rations.

Mind Trick
The Psion knows what lurks in the minds of men.  When in sight of another character (PC or NPC), Roll+CHA.  On a 10+ you may ask the GM one of the following:
-  What would give me leverage over this character?
-  What wouldn't this character want me to know?
-  What does this character know about me?

On a 7-9, choose two:
-  The GM can ask you one of those three questions.
-  The target becomes aware of your mental intrusion.
-  You are unable to use Mind Trick again until you Meditate.

Cool idea!
Is it a human only playbook?

Make you bonds personal, give more hooks for reasons why and how to resolve them.
_____________ doesn't trust me because my powers frighten/manipulate/cause jealousy in them. I'll make them trust me
_____________ is a lesser mind who cannot possibly understand my destiny. When I show them, they will bow down before me and despair / love / worship me.
I see latent potential for inside _____________ . I will make them recognise it.

I like the moves so far! A niche that was begging to be filled. Your take on the spell casting move is sublime yet iconic. :)

I'd suggest that Discern Metarealities is a great move idea, but instead of more questions, how about  extra sensory clarification?

When you use your ESP and Discern Realities, you may also clarify the reality with an additional:What Why Where or Who?

The first note I'd like to say is that it looks cool so far! :)

The second note is that, to avoid confusion, I would call the hold for psions something different, maybe "Focus". This makes it so that whenever you say "Focus" it's clear that you mean the psion's special hold which is shared between moves and not some other (or any kind of) hold. This is especially important because hold cannot generally be transferred between moves.

Mind Trick's 7-9 looks harsh.

Here are some suggestion or ideas for the moves!

When you spend uninterrupted time (an hour or so) in a a state of deep relaxation, roll+int. On a 10+, choose two. On a 7-9, choose one. On a miss, you're visited by strange and disturbing visions.
- Hold 2 focus
- Ask the GM for a portent of something to come
- Take +1-forward

Manifest Psi
When you call on your reserve of personal power and focus your will, roll+int. On a 10+, hold 3 focus.  On a 7-9, hold 1 focus for each of the following you select:
• You are harmed
• You are distracted
• You are noticed
You can spend 1 focus to manifest a Psionic Power that you know.

Autohypnosis: When you meditate while you make camp, you don't need to consume rations.

New Ideas for advancements:

Psychic Fist: Your mental focus turns your fists into deadly iron. As long as you have focus, your unarmed attacks work as weapons (hand).

Force Feedback (Requires: Psychic Fist): When you inflict damage unarmed, hold 1 focus.

Psychic Tricks: As long as you have focus, you can cast the wizard cantrips (use the wizard's cast a spell move). If you'd forget a spell, instead lose 1 focus.

Sudden Manifestation: When you manifest a power, you can spend an additional focus to do so instantly, quick as an eyeblink.

Battlemind: When you're focused and you aid your allies in battle, spend 1 focus to give them +1-damage forward.

Just some ideas, I hope some are helpful!

Noofy>  

• I hadn't given Races any sort of thought, yet.  The classic Psion approach to Races is to just create new Races that use Psionics, rather than backward integrate Psionics into the existing Fantasy races.  It wouldn't be too hard to add a whole new Race to the game that way, just stick "Githzerai" or "Kalashtar" in that section and you've got instant World-Building.  
  
  Without adding a whole new Race, I was thinking Humans and Dwarves.  Dwarves already have some Psionic baggage from Dark Sun and some relationship with Crystals(!!!).
  
  Once I get things manhandled a bit better, I'll give this another look.  Since I'm still not 100% sure what this Class DOES it's hard to make Racial Moves.
   
• I really like those Bonds.  They add the extra Oomph I think I was looking for.  I will say that I typed the original Bonds up on my iPad...  and that always puts me in a terse and rather unpleasant mood.  I should not try creating things on it...  but my desktop isn't downstairs where Netflix and my wife and my dogs are :'(.  Such a conundrum!  :D
   
• Yeah, I got frustrated with Discern Metarealities when I went to add questions, wrote "What happened here?" and "What is going to happen here?", and then I checked the Basic Moves and saw that those questions are ALREADY IN THERE :D  So I slapped something different together and moved on...  That needs to be looked back into... maybe I'm overcomplicating it.
   

Antisinecurist>

• You know...  I was avoiding doing that just because I was afraid to OVERHACK the game and add a NEW KIND OF HOLD in.  But you're right, that's the most elegant way to avoid confusion.  Psionic Hold is now Focus.  Focus can be shared between different moves.
  
  Now, one thing I need to avoid is having players just keep using Focus Moves to CHARGE UP before entering the Dungeon and end up with an inexhaustible power point pool.  I also need a way to make the +1 Focus Move not a "feat tax", something every Psion wants because it gives them more spells.  I figure the base Manifest Psi power will have a clause that says "Anytime you use this, any held Focus dissappears."
  
  On the other hand, we don't want the Psions to have a super-easy time of it.  While they should be able to spend multiple Focus to boost a single power, I don't want them being able to make one Manifest Psi roll and then be able to use seven Powers, making the Wizard look like an idiot because he has to roll every single time he uses a Spell.  One-to-three Powers per roll sounds reasonable, more than that might make the other casters feel overshadowed and psionic manifestation seem too "easy" and "undangerous" and "inside quotation marks".
  
   
• Mind Trick is sort of a problem at this moment.  I wrote it, originally, as a Basic Move, but then it got sort of unwieldy and overspecialized.  So I moved it down to the Advanced Moves -- but I'm not sure if that's really where I want to put it.
   
• I like your Move rewrites.  There's some meat on those bones!  I worry about having Meditate give Focus, too, but having it be sort of a Swiss Army Knife, multiuse Move seems very interesting and appropriate.
   
• Oooh, new Moves!  :D
  
  • Psychic Fist - I like it, but I think it might be weak.  Since Psions have a d4 combat, just making your fists a weapon probably needs some more Oomph... like an extra d4 or d6 or something like that.  On the other hand, I was going to write something almost identical except I was going to call it Soulknife :D
  • Force Feedback - And this would be a perfect upgrade for Soulknife, too!
  • Psychic Tricks - I like this alot.  Definitely.  And now that we have a Focus mechanic, the words "As long as you have Focus" totally makes sense.  You've just added a new mechanic to the Psion's repetoire ;)
  • Sudden Manifestation - This one, I feel like, needs a little more mechanical definition, but is definitely one to come back to.
  • Battlemind - I LIKE this.  I like it alot.

Thoughts:

Psychic Fist/Soulblade - As long as you have Focus, your unarmed attacks work as weapons (hand).  When making a Hack and Slash Move with your Psychic Fists/Soulblade, on a hit you may spend one Focus to ignore armor, in addition to the other rules for Hack and Slash.

Thoughts:

Psychic Fist/Soulblade - As long as you have Focus, your unarmed attacks work as weapons (hand).  When making a Hack and Slash Move with your Psychic Fists/Soulblade, on a hit you may spend one Focus to ignore armor, in addition to the other rules for Hack and Slash.

That's pretty powerful... perhaps instead of full on "ignore armour" something like "gains piercing equal to your level -1" or such...

Quote from: MrPrim on July 06, 2012, 10:32:39 AM

Thoughts:

Psychic Fist/Soulblade - As long as you have Focus, your unarmed attacks work as weapons (hand).  When making a Hack and Slash Move with your Psychic Fists/Soulblade, on a hit you may spend one Focus to ignore armor, in addition to the other rules for Hack and Slash.

That's pretty powerful... perhaps instead of full on "ignore armour" something like "gains piercing equal to your level -1" or such...

Not *too* powerful! Remember, it costs a focus, which isn't super-common, plus their damage is only d4!

MrPrim: You can avoid, to an extent, the "charge up" problem by making most of the stuff that gives focus tied to a move. This means if they say charge up more than once they run the risk of getting a hard move! So it's actually quite risky. You can also say you can only use the core "charging" move when you have 0 focus. (Actually, on re-reading, your version works out almost the same, where you lose all focus first!)

For meditating, if you don't want to grant focus, maybe...

When you spend uninterrupted time (an hour or so) in a a state of deep relaxation, roll+int. On a 10+, choose two. On a 7-9, choose one. On a miss, you're visited by strange and disturbing visions.
- Remove a mental debility (stunned or confused)
- Ask the GM for a portent of something to come
- The next time you spout lore or discern realities, remind him to tell you what visions you saw of it

• Yeah, I got frustrated with Discern Metarealities when I went to add questions, wrote "What happened here?" and "What is going to happen here?", and then I checked the Basic Moves and saw that those questions are ALREADY IN THERE :D  So I slapped something different together and moved on...  That needs to be looked back into... maybe I'm overcomplicating it.
  

What about these? (Provided by John Harper's Eye of Chaos)

What does your character think of __, truthfully?
What or whom does your character value highly?
How might I get your character to __?
To what or whom is your character beholden?
What are your character’s ambitions, intentions, dreams?
What or whom does your character greatly fear?

More psionic move ideas.  Use, manipulate, or reject as you will.

Hypnotic Suggestion - when you plant a suggestion in a weak-willed mind, roll +Cha. On a hit, they act on the suggestion as long as it isn't inherently dangerous or abhorrent (to them). On a 10+, pick one:
- They keep acting on it for a while
- They don't realize they've been manipulated
- They act on it even if it's dangerous or abhorrent

Social Chameleon - when you have focus, you can make others perceive you as someone else. Everyone else sees you as the same person.  While you maintain your guise, you are -1 ongoing.

Psionic Doppelganger (requires Social Chameleon) - when you use Social Chameleon to disguise yourself as a specific person and meet someone that person knows, roll +Wis. On a 7-9, ask one. On a 10+, ask three.
- What they call me?
- What do I call them?
- How did I meet them?
- What do they expect of me?
- How did we last part ways?

Psychokinesis - expend Focus to use your mind as a weapon (close, reach, near, forceful). When make a move using your mind as a weapon, making it rolling +Int.  (or +Cha?)

Dang, I was feeling all amped to get more work in on this today... and then I read the Battlemind :D

I think you should keep working! It would be really cool to see a "Dungeon World Splatbook" of focus users, such as the Battlemind (more fighty), the Psion (more casty), the Soulknife (a blend of traditional soulknife with an assassin edge) and so on that all gain and use focus in various ways. In this way, your psion can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Sage's Battlemind and create a cool new thing!

- Alex

The existence of the Battlemind does solve one problem I've been having.  The Psion's Move set was starting to fill up with straight-up Combat -- mind-over-body martial arts-style Moves.  With someone else (not just SOMEONE else, one of the big someones) having done something so similar but with a martial twist, I can get away with dropping all of that "punching-through boards" nonsense (with a Multiclass Move or two, to bring it back in if you really want to) and get back to "I use my mind to strangle the universe" combat moves and other, more esoteric, things.

Here is a lightening-fast draft of the Soulknife (my spy/assassin counterpart to your Psion and Sage's Battlemind)...

---

Look
Stats
   6+constitution HP
   d6 damage

Gear
Bonds
Races
Moves
   Cloud: You can cloud the senses of men and cloak yourself in psychic fog. Spend 1 focus to hold 3. You can spend your hold to make someone ignore you who'd otherwise notice you, or make someone lose track of you if they're already aware of you.

   Dedicated: When you perform the trainings and exercises given to you by your order (which takes about an hour), hold 2 focus.

   Psychic Thrust: When you cut at an undefended or unaware target with your soulblade, roll+dex. On a 10+, deal your damage and choose one. On a 7-9, the GM will choose one.
      - the target loses 5 or 10 minutes of his memory (you choose which span of time he forgets)
      - the target loses one of his senses (sight, taste, sound, feeling, hearing) for a moment or two
      - the target is stunned and dazed until something shakes them out of it (a loud noise, attack, or physical jostling, maybe)
      - you can ask them any one question; they must answer truthfully

   Soulblade: As long as you have focus, you can generate a dagger-like blade of psychic energy (hand, precise, ignores armor).

Adv Moves
   Arcane Awareness: When you hack and slash against a spellcaster, ask the GM what spells they have prepared. He'll tell you one or two.

   Augment Strike: When you hack and slash with your soulblade, on a 10+, you may open yourself to your enemy's attack and choose one option from psychic thrust.

   Autoantitoxin: Whenever you would suffer from a poison, you may spend 1-focus and ignore it's effects.

   Focused Dodge: While you have focus, you have +1-armor.

   Forceful Will: When you catch someone's gaze and focus your mind against them, spend 1-focus and roll+cha. On a 10+, choose two options from psychic thrust. On a 7-9, choose one.

   Mindspy: When you observe someone and they're unaware of you, ask 1+1 per focus spent.
      - What is their most valuable possession?
      - I want them to do ____. What's the best way to get them to do it?
      - What do they know about ____?
      - What's their weak point right now?
      - I want ____ from them. How's the best way to get it?

   Night Eyes: As long as you're focused, you can see perfectly even in total darkness.

   Serpent Soul: When you consume a poison and survive, note down it's name. Whenever you deal damage with your soulblade, you may spend 1-focus to inflict that poison upon your enemy.

   Shadow Cloak: When you're in partial or total darkness or shadow, you can spend 1-focus and pull the shadows around you. No one can see you until you leave the darkness or otherwise make your presence known.

(6-10)
   Arcane Theft (Requires: Arcane Awareness): When you hack and slash a spellcaster using your soulblade, on a 12+, choose one of their prepared spells and they forget it. Once during the next day, you can spend 1-focus to cast that spell.

   Implant: When you lay hands on a target unaware of you or unable to stop you, you can spend 1-focus to implant a behavior (something they must or must not do) in their mind. Whenever they act contrary to this behavior, you gain 1-hold over them. Spend your hold to inflict 1d6 damage against them at any distance and ignoring armor or to choose and inflict a psychic thrust option against them. Once you've spent 3-hold on them from a given behavior, they're free of it.

   Soulblade Parry (Requires: Focused Dodge): While you have your soulblade manifested, you have +1-armor. When you'd suffer damage from a weapon attack, you may spend 1-focus to parry the attack with your soulblade and ignore the damage.

   Steal Shape: Whenever you touch or strike a defenseless humanoid target with your soulblade, write down their name. At any time, you can spend 1-focus to assume their form. At any time you can return to your own body.

That's super neat!

And your super fast class ONCE AGAIN spurs me on to write something!

But not now ;)

Modified the Starting Moves and added some Racial Moves.

Look
Choose one for each:
Empty Eyes, Glowing Eyes, or Intense Eyes
Bald Head, Weird Head, or Wild Hair
Fine Clothes, Flowing Robes, or Tattered Rags
Strong Body, Tattooed Body, or Wasted Body

Stats
Assign these scores to your stats:
17 (+2), 15 (+1), 13 (+1), 11 (+0), 9 (+0), 8 (-1)
You start with 4+Constitution HP.
Your base damage is d4.

Gear
Your Load is 5+Str.

Bonds
Fill in the name of one of your companions in at least one.
_____________ doesn't trust me because my powers frighten/manipulate/cause jealousy in them. I'll make them trust me.
_____________ is a lesser mind who cannot possibly understand my destiny. When I show them, they will bow down before me and despair / love / worship me.
I see latent potential for inside _____________ . I will make them recognise it.
When I dream about _____________, the things I see worry me.

Starting Moves
Choose a racial move:
Dwarf

Your people were made to craft and share a brothership with the Made that other races can’t begin to understand.  When you Speak to Minds, you may communicate with manufactured items as if they were people.  Exceptionally boring, single-minded, object-like people, but people none-the-less.

Human

Your Mind vibrates on the frequency of the city and village, the hum of a group.  When you spend one hour in or around a grouping of more than ten people, the GM will tell you the group’s zeitgeist, what thought unites that group’s majority.

Kalashtar  (Non-OGL :D)

Your mind is a doorway to the realms of Unending Nightmare, from where your other half originates.  When you stare into a mortal’s eyes for ten seconds without blinking, ask the GM what one thing they are most afraid of.  That greatest fear is what they see in your eyes.

You start with these Moves:

Manifest Psionic Focus
When you call on your reserve of personal power and focus your will, Roll+INT.  When you use this power, lose all Focus.  On a 10+, gain 3 focus.  On a 7-9, gain 1 focus for each of the following you select:
• You are harmed
• You are distracted
• You are noticed
You may spend 1 focus to manifest a Psionic Power that you know.  You may not have more than 3 Focus at any time.

Psionic Powers
Your mind is a muscle.  Through force of will and mental exercise, you can do things most men simply cannot do.  You start play knowing 2 first level psionic powers.  Whenever you level up, you learn a new power of your level or lower.  You must already know a power’s prerequisite before learning it.

Speak to Minds
When have Focus remaining, you may communicate via thought with any sentient, living creature within Near range.  You and the targeted creature can converse as if speaking aloud, using only your minds.  This Move transcends language, allowing creatures who do not share a tongue to communicate easily.

See Secrets
Your mind is an antenna tuned to eldritch frequencies.  When you first meet a new person, enter a new location, or touch a new object, ask the GM to tell you one secret about that person, place, or thing.  The GM is free to say that something does not have any secrets; not everything has to be a big mystery.

Advanced Moves

Psionic Powers[/i]

((The way I imagine these working is like a “Feat Tree”.  The different trees will be things like Telekinesis, Telepathy, Ectoplasmic Projection, Biofeedback, Clairvoyance, etc.  Each Psion can choose between being a Generalist or specializing in 2-3 powers all the way up until the end.))

To be Continued....