Looking at the powers and such in the Expanded Psionics Handbook and Complete Psionic, it appears as though psionic characters manifest their powers by channeling ectoplasm from the Astral. Of course, in the Planescape setting this is impossible on the Ethereal or Inner Planes, since they are not coterminous with the Astral. How would one reconcile this, by having powers and the like be composed of protomatter instead?
How does one reconcile psionic use (3.x) on the inner planes?
Fri, 2009-10-30 20:51
#1
How does one reconcile psionic use (3.x) on the inner planes?
Sat, 2009-10-31 03:50
#3
Re: How does one reconcile psionic use (3.x) on the inner ...
Another problem is that the Complete Psionic (I think it's complete psionic, anyway) mentions elemental stewards, who are, indeed, actual elementals living on the elemental planes. This would cause some problems for the Giths and anyone else on the Outer Planes since Complete Psionic is quite specific in stating that elemental stewards are commissioned/summoned, and NOT created (thus the whole pseudoelemental creation rule for the Outer Planes wouldn't work with psionics, at least not in this case.)
Sat, 2009-10-31 10:35
#4
Re: How does one reconcile psionic use (3.x) on the inner ...
The Astral Plane is defined, even in A Guide to the Astral Plane for Planescape, as the space between all other planes. Accordingly, you might assume it's accessible for the purposes of teleportation, psionics, and other purposes needed to make the game fun from almost anywhere in the multiverse.
That doesn't mean it replaces the Ethereal Plane for the purposes of Inner Planar travel. It's possible that the extremely physical nature of the Inner Planes is incompatible with the nonphysical non-space of the Astral Plane, so that it's impossible to convert one's body to the purely mental state necessary to incorporate oneself fully on the Astral Plane unless you begin on the Material Plane or Outer Planes; a partial incorporation, as in teleportation, might be possible.
Or you could just ignore the 3e ruling that the Astral Plane is responsible for psionic and teleportation effects. It wasn't, in 2e, so if you're using a purely 2e cosmology, it might make sense to use the 2nd edition explanation for those effects (which is to say, they just happen).
I'm not sure why it would be necessary for gith to have access to elemental stewards, though, as optional as they are. Perhaps that's a psionic technique that just isn't available to them.
Sat, 2009-10-31 14:04
#5
Re: How does one reconcile psionic use (3.x) on the inner ...
You can completely ignore which plane connects to which plane as a means of ruling whether or not a class ability works. They did that mostly in 3e. And in 3e the Astral Plane connects to everywhere.
Restricting a Shaper Psion's power because of this would be horribly unfair against the player, since it's even more than restricting Shadow Walk because of the plane.
Well on the Ethereal, presumably they channel their powers from the Demiplane of Ectoplasm, described in considerable detail in many 3e Mind's Eye articles.
On the Inner Planes it's simple enough to just rule that they draw on the inherent natural energy of those planes particularly the two energy planes, instead of the Astral though certain powers specifically dependent on the Astral, ie. Astral Construct might not work there. There might be a flavor difference, in that channel elemental 'thought energy' as opposed to mortal could feel really weird for a while, but I would think, given psionics' existence as largely outside of the D&D core, there's no reason to go overboard with complex rulings.