Speedy Psionic Combat

A further thought on one specific thing that’s wrong with the OD&D/AD&D psionic combat system: the time it takes to resolve. I’m not complaining about how long it takes, but rather… how long it lasts.

Let me explain: There’s a long-running debate about one-minute melee rounds vs. shorter rounds of six seconds or less. One argument for one-minute rounds, put forward by Michael Mornard (Old Geezer/Gronan from the various forums) is that each round of OD&D combat takes about a minute to resolve, so using one-minute rounds makes combat practically real-time.

Psionic combat is supposed to be fast, over in the blink of an eye. It all happens in the first round before the first physical actions are resolved. I imagine part of the reason for not using die rolls for the psionic combat exchanges was to speed it up relative to melee combat. But the system really isn’t fast enough to reflect that.

If you really want psionic combat to be that quick, it should be a one-and-done system. During character creation, instead of recording a single psionic attack strength and defense strength, record one for each attack and defense mode. When psionic combat begins, the combatants secretly pick which modes to use, then reveal their attack and defense scores and compare. Side A can have an attack score that is higher than, lower than, or tied with Side B’s defense score, and can have a defense score that is higher than, lower than, or tied with Side B’s attack score, for a total of nine outcomes:

• High/High: Side A exhausted, Side B defeated.
• High/Tied: Side A dazed, Side B defeated.
• High/Low: Both sides defeated.
• Tied/High: Side A exhausted, Side B dazed.
• Tied/Tied: Both sides dazed.
• Tied/Low: Side A defeated, Side B dazed.
• Low/High: Both sides exhausted.
• Low/Tied: Side A dazed, Side B exhausted.
• Low/Low: Side A defeated, Side B exhausted.

The idea is that each side will finish in one of three states: mentally exhausted, dazed, or defeated.

• An exhausted psychic can’t use psionics until they rest, but are able to take other actions, like melee combat.
• A dazed psychic can’t take any action for at least a round (perhaps there is a die roll based on attack mode?)
• A defeated psychic takes the full effect of the attack mode used against them.

So, after this quick comparison of scores, one or both psychic combatants stumbles and there is a clear winner. Then, the GM rolls either for the length of time dazed or the exact effect of a successful attack and makes it clear what happened as the melee combat begins.

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Psionic Thoughts

Jason Vey of The Wasted Lands blog has been running a series on psionics in TSR-era D&D, covering both the OD&D and AD&D systems and the differences between the two. The easiest way to check it out is to go to the psionics label on his blog and look at the last four articles. I disagree with Jason on one major point, but it’s a matter of opinion rather than a debate over facts. The series is a good read.

The last time I dealt with the psionics system was 40 years ago. I never had anyone play a psionic character when I GMed, but I played a psionic magic-user when my friend GMed. Since, for some reason, my friend only GMed one-on-one sessions with me vs. the larger number of players when I GMed, psionics turned out to be crucial to my character’s survival. Psionic Blast saved my bacon on solo encounters vs. some tough random monsters. I enjoyed my psionic experiences, but although the OD&D and AD&D rules aren’t unplayable, they are really much too clunky, which is why I’ve previously tried to rewrite the system.

But there are a couple things I’d keep, at least conceptually:

• The different feel of psionics for each class (Fighter/Thief psionics are considered yoga in OD&D, for example)
• The rarity of psionic characters
• Slower progression or reduced power in the main class
• Differences in effectiveness of attack modes vs. defense modes
• Very quick psionic combat (multiple attack/defense exchanges in first round)

I do think my past attempts to use the existing melee combat system to handle psionic combat is the right way to go, but I still have some work to do on fixing the rest of psionics. And the way things are going, I think it’s all going to be linked to a rewrite of magic spells as well. We’ll have to see what happens.

Problems with Psionics

OK, I can't fight it. I tried to avoid jumping on the psionics bandwagon started on Grognardia. Not because I'm anti-psionics, but because I want to re-work the psi stuff I've already done as part of a unified power/magic effects system -- and I'm just not ready to do that yet.

But I have a couple quick ideas for psionics posts I could do this weekend. This one's the first: my opinions on what's wrong with the original psionics systems in Eldritch Wizardry, as well as its near-relative, the AD&D 1e psionics system. I think a lot of people will agree with at least parts of this, but I've never seen anyone fully articulate this; usually, people just say "the mechanics are clunky and confusing" without going into much detail.

Science Fantasy: Psionics

Over on Critical Hits, there's a post about people's attitudes towards getting science in their fantasy, with the specific example of psionics in D&D. Now, I have nothing against SF; despite my focus so far on medieval fantasy, I've also been working on a '50s-style rocket patrol RPG and a few other SFish game materials. I don't even have a complete aversion to SF, or psionics specifically, in D&D in general. However, I've got a couple complaints about D&D psionics. One is the clunkiness of the mechanics: I'd prefer something quick and simple. But more important, D&D psionics as presented spoils the feel of fantasy.

It's not that sword & sorcery or epic fantasy can't have psionics. Clark Ashton Smith inserted serpent men with psychic hypnotic powers into a couple of his Hyperborean and Atlantean fantasies, for example. Other fantasies have the occasional character with an innate power that, for all intents and purposes, could be psionics. However, different settings have different feels, and how psionics are presented in comparison with magic has a critical effect on the feel of the fantasy. The usual presentation of psionics is as a spell-point alternative to regular magic, but slightly stronger on the low level and slightly weaker on the high level, and with no restrictions like dispel magic. Let's face it, it feels like something made for power-gaming.

Of course, psionics are presented as an optional system. However, they are intertwined with a few monsters and magic items, making it hard to completely disentangle psionics. A much simpler psionic system would be easier to tailor to individual settings and much easier to tone down in power level.