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Psionics in 2300AD

I thought what people liked about 2300 was the "hard" science. I think recent developments in gravity and space-time theory make the jump drive is at least as realistic as the stutterwarp, but it is refreshing to scrap unlikey elements such as grav plates and psionics.

In the 1950s and 1960s there were some suggestions that psionics were not clearly im-possible and legitimately appeared in Science Fiction and the Classic Traveller that reflecs the era. Research since then has not shown anything better than random chance, so I don't think psionics belong in 2300.
 
I think that the AD&D legacy has effected all RPGs, so those without psionics seem to be lacking something. But, if I recall the point of psionics was the explored regions of the mind. If that is the case, we still may yet have a use for psionics even in a Hard SF setting such as 2300AD.

What I was drawn to in 2300AD was Starships that looked like Starships and Space Suits that were big and bulky. Worlds that were not friendly to humans. But, that did change in 2300AD to more of a Traveller- friendly universe much to my disappointment.

I am still looking for those qualitites and I am now rapidly becoming disappointed in Transhuman Space, as it emphasizes the former over the later.
 
I think 2300 should be a psionics free zone. Classic Traveller has psionics and lets leave it at that.Now lets consider the following reasons. Has any one ever met anyone with psionics in real life? Their are people who claim to have powers of the mind, but they mostly use tricks. Lets consider 3 popular areas of psionics. There is predicting the Future, Contacting the Dead, and reading another's mind. Now which of these three things does Traveller psionics do? Their is no psionic power that allows people to foresee the future in Traveller, but that what many people claim to do with their mind powers in todays world. Their are no people who specialize in contacting the spirits of the dead in Traveller. Their are mind readers, but this is based on the idea that everyone's mind is a transmitter, there is little evidence of this, and if a though is not transmitted it can't be received. Most innate sensory organs are passive. If you are going to introduce psionics into 2300, you could just as easily introduce wizards who cast spells. I don't think a psionic power is any more scientific than a magic spell. Now their may be technological devices that can read a person's mind, it would basically have to make a synaptic connection with the brain of otherwise scan the person's brain energies for a pattern and interpret it as thought. Though I doubt any human brain could have this talent.
 
Mr Murphy (the Mad Irishman of many fine character sheets fame) has a set of Psionics Rules for 2300AD, adapted from CT IIRC, but unfortunately his site is down at present.

In general, I would suggest that the presence of Psionics in a 2300AD campaign sufficient to require actual rules breaks the underlying hard SF assumptions to the point where it becomes somthing other than 2300AD. Although there is IIRC one published incidence of Psi power, that could equally be explained away as highly advanced biological information transfer systems.

If you want to run a 2300AD game with T20 feel free to do wahtever suits you and your players, but Psionics don't IMO fit the setting...

Cheers,

Nick Middleton
 
I love psionics but I'd have to say no to them in 2300AD. Psionics belong in a space opera game like TRAVELLER or STAR FRONTIERS. 2300AD at least tries to be scientifically accurate and sadly, psionics just wouldn't fit. :(
 
Originally posted by Secrect Cow Level:
I love psionics but I'd have to say no to them in 2300AD. Psionics belong in a space opera game like TRAVELLER or STAR FRONTIERS. 2300AD at least tries to be scientifically accurate and sadly, psionics just wouldn't fit. :(
I don't know about that. If they are difficult to learn or unreliable, and not readily visible, they could work well.

For example, a short list of T4 "Specials" tthat wouldn't appears to be "Psionics" to most

3d orientation (the ability to know how far on what vector you've gone.)
Time Sense (You don't need a watch.. your internal time clock is accurate to the minute per week range)
Weather Sense (The GM tells you the weather for the next day, accurately most of the time)
Danger Sense (Guys, i've got a bad feeling...)
Porbability Manipulation (Low scaled effects, but they do add up; this is the one that has been reliably shown to have some basis in reality, at least when using computer randon number generators...)
Resist disease, heal faster, etc: so long as they don't change the healing times by more than one magnitude, these would simply be scoffed at as "Just a good constitution" or somesuch.

Now, as for the argument that "Brains don't transmit", that is pure bohunk. as an electrically active organ, it DOES, by its very nature, generate RF. Very low power, muddled signals. Do I think that RF is the medium for Telepathy? No. But it is a possibility that isn't outside the semi-hard science of 2300.
 
Hello Secrect Cow Level,

I partially disagree with the space opera link to Traveller. There is a lot of hard science in Classic Traveller that is based on the scientific theories and facts known at the time the RPG came out. Yep, psionics was included, but on a limited scale to add the science fiction flavor and to match what the writers of the genre put in their books.

Stutter Warp isn't a space opera prop? The various alien beings aren't space opera props?

If I want total reality in a game I'll play historical simulations.

I have not actually played 2300 AD or Traveller 2300 AD, but having them placed in the genres of alternate historical simulations/science fiction/fantasy is going to have so opera space or fantasy included.

Finally, Traveller for all its faults is still around after 25-years in one or more forms. Can Star Frontiers, Space Master, Albedo, Domination, Justifiers, BattleTech/MechWarrior, or any number of similar products come close?

I don't expect to change your viewpoint, which I respect and slightly disagree with and hopefully you can do the same for my expressed views.

Originally posted by Secrect Cow Level:
I love psionics but I'd have to say no to them in 2300AD. Psionics belong in a space opera game like TRAVELLER or STAR FRONTIERS. 2300AD at least tries to be scientifically accurate and sadly, psionics just wouldn't fit. :(
 
Originally posted by Thomas Rux:
Hello Secrect Cow Level,

I partially disagree with the space opera link to Traveller. There is a lot of hard science in Classic Traveller that is based on the scientific theories and facts known at the time the RPG came out. Yep, psionics was included, but on a limited scale to add the science fiction flavor and to match what the writers of the genre put in their books.

Stutter Warp isn't a space opera prop? The various alien beings aren't space opera props?

If I want total reality in a game I'll play historical simulations.

I have not actually played 2300 AD or Traveller 2300 AD, but having them placed in the genres of alternate historical simulations/science fiction/fantasy is going to have so opera space or fantasy included.

Finally, Traveller for all its faults is still around after 25-years in one or more forms. Can Star Frontiers, Space Master, Albedo, Domination, Justifiers, BattleTech/MechWarrior, or any number of similar products come close?

I don't expect to change your viewpoint, which I respect and slightly disagree with and hopefully you can do the same for my expressed views.

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Secrect Cow Level:
I love psionics but I'd have to say no to them in 2300AD. Psionics belong in a space opera game like TRAVELLER or STAR FRONTIERS. 2300AD at least tries to be scientifically accurate and sadly, psionics just wouldn't fit. :(
</font>[/QUOTE]
Wow,I guess that'll teach me to call TRAVELLER a space opera game! Now would you mind helping me find my head. It had to land around here somewhere...
 
Hello again Secrect Cow Level,

My apologies for apparently using the heavy cutting tools, battle axe I suppose ;) , in my reply
. I should've included that Traveller does have some space opera qualities that GMs and gamers can exploit heavily if they so desire.

So how many of the games mentioned do you recognize?

Originally posted by Secrect Cow Level:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Thomas Rux:
Hello Secrect Cow Level,

I partially disagree with the space opera link to Traveller. There is a lot of hard science in Classic Traveller that is based on the scientific theories and facts known at the time the RPG came out. Yep, psionics was included, but on a limited scale to add the science fiction flavor and to match what the writers of the genre put in their books.

Stutter Warp isn't a space opera prop? The various alien beings aren't space opera props?

If I want total reality in a game I'll play historical simulations.

I have not actually played 2300 AD or Traveller 2300 AD, but having them placed in the genres of alternate historical simulations/science fiction/fantasy is going to have so opera space or fantasy included.

Finally, Traveller for all its faults is still around after 25-years in one or more forms. Can Star Frontiers, Space Master, Albedo, Domination, Justifiers, BattleTech/MechWarrior, or any number of similar products come close?

I don't expect to change your viewpoint, which I respect and slightly disagree with and hopefully you can do the same for my expressed views.

</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Secrect Cow Level:
I love psionics but I'd have to say no to them in 2300AD. Psionics belong in a space opera game like TRAVELLER or STAR FRONTIERS. 2300AD at least tries to be scientifically accurate and sadly, psionics just wouldn't fit. :(
</font>[/QUOTE]
Wow,I guess that'll teach me to call TRAVELLER a space opera game! Now would you mind helping me find my head. It had to land around here somewhere...
</font>[/QUOTE]
 
2300AD never had psionics. However, there is mention in the equipment manual of a machine that, effectively, lets you read minds.


It requires the use of a human sensitive on one end, and the subject of the interrogation on the other. It was mostly used as a lie detector, I do believe.

Unfortunately, it never actually defined a "sensitive" nor provided any information about them.
 
Originally posted by Colin:
2300AD never had psionics. However, there is mention in the equipment manual of a machine that, effectively, lets you read minds.


It requires the use of a human sensitive on one end, and the subject of the interrogation on the other. It was mostly used as a lie detector, I do believe.

Unfortunately, it never actually defined a "sensitive" nor provided any information about them.
Well that's easy. A sensitive is someone who can use the machine. :)

There was a psychic plant in one of the adventures in the Nyotekundu Sourcebook. The idea of a weed that can make peoples' minds go funny is just ridiculous, though. :)

- Rob.
 
Originally posted by robmyers:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Colin:
2300AD never had psionics. However, there is mention in the equipment manual of a machine that, effectively, lets you read minds.


It requires the use of a human sensitive on one end, and the subject of the interrogation on the other. It was mostly used as a lie detector, I do believe.

Unfortunately, it never actually defined a "sensitive" nor provided any information about them.
Well that's easy. A sensitive is someone who can use the machine. :)

There was a psychic plant in one of the adventures in the Nyotekundu Sourcebook. The idea of a weed that can make peoples' minds go funny is just ridiculous, though. :)

- Rob.
</font>[/QUOTE]Actaully, I went back and read the, book, and that's exactly the answer they give. As to the weed messing up people's minds, I'm not going to touch that one...
 
Originally posted by Colin:
2300AD never had psionics. However, there is mention in the equipment manual of a machine that, effectively, lets you read minds.


It requires the use of a human sensitive on one end, and the subject of the interrogation on the other. It was mostly used as a lie detector, I do believe.

Unfortunately, it never actually defined a "sensitive" nor provided any information about them.
Yeah, I made a task for that... Difficult, with no assets.

For the record, however, Psi showed up in TWO 2300 adventures: Shadows of the Past in the Nyotekundu Sourcebook, and the Agra Intelligences in the Bayern module. Telempathy and Telepathy, along with some form of N-space rotation and teleportation, at least, already exist in the 2300 Universe.

I designed my own Psi system, and used it for years, and it did not overpower the game, nor make it too "unscientific". The powers were AT LEAST Difficult to acquire, and the only asset was Psychological Strength, as detailed in Bayern.
 
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