Your characters Psionic? Are they also criminals?

[gloriousbattle]

Most of my characters attempted to find the psionics institute, and most were eventually successful. Psionics is one of the things that can cut your character out from the herd, and is a lot of fun, IMO.

However, one of the interesting ad quirky things about canon Traveller is that while your character just became (mildly) a superman, he also became a criminal, hunted by the Imperium.

Curious how others handled this. I know a few GMs who ignored psionics altogether, but their games tended not to be very popular, once this was discovered.

ASIDE: PSIONICS IN MY VAMPIRE CAMPAIGN

Of course, the vampires hate psionics, as it represents the next development of sentient life, which they want to destroy, AND telepaths can easily sniff them out, thus, the anti-psi / anti-Zhodani policy of the Imperium is in place because the vampires who really run things want it to be so. The Zhodani are thus mildly the good guys, and the Psionics institutes are there to help free the enslaved Solomani and Vilani of the Imperium.

 

[DaveChase]

...

ASIDE: PSIONICS IN MY VAMPIRE CAMPAIGN

Of course, the vampires hate psionics, as it represents the next development of sentient life, which they want to destroy, AND telepaths can easily sniff them out, thus, the anti-psi / anti-Zhodani policy of the Imperium is in place because the vampires who really run things want it to be so. The Zhodani are thus mildly the good guys, and the Psionics institutes are there to help free the enslaved Solomani and Vilani of the Imperium.

Amusing twist of things. I like this concept (view point) by some individuals in the Imperium/Traveller Universe.

Dave Chase

 

[Enoki]

The way I see the issue of psionics is a matter not so much of possession but of use. If a player has such skills and demonstrates them in some manner where other players or NPC's can see the effects then these players or NPC's would be expected to react to them.
So, if a player with psionics did something on an Imperial world with a moderate to high law level or a government that would take a dim view of such activity the likely result would be negative ranging from unwanted government interest in the party and individual up to persecution and arrest. On non-Imperial worlds it would vary more but mostly again with the law level, what occured and, the government type. So, using psionics on a highly religious world might be a negative or positive while one with a high law level might take a very dim view of such activity.
It also might be incumbent on another player's character to take a negative action towards visible psionics if they were normally inclined to have a fear or hatred of such activity. Likewise, a positive might occur in other circumstances.
I personally currently have only one character rolled up with such skills and that is an assassin who is definitely a criminal by trade and skills set. Psionics in this character's case (awareness and clarvoyance) are useful adjuncts to carrying out hits and would likely not be something normally noticable in another setting.
Now, if a character had psionics like telekinesis, telepathy (particularly where they could transmit thoughts or assault someone), or teleportation it would be more obvious if those skills got used. Even awareness might draw attention if the person were supposedly "dead" and then woke up hours later in a morgue in front of a coroner or, visibly healed a serious wound in minutes or less.

So, within the Imperium at least in my settings it would vary by what the character did and where they did it.

 

[Enoff]

Well this is a fun thing to play with and gives players great power. If it is criminal or not I think is up to you the referee allowing such class or activity. A diabolical villain or institution could also be so structured to allow psionics for purposes criminal. Its a deux la machina for the referee or player.

I just don't like the undead thing or maybe it is used so casually. I think if we were truly confronted with such a thing, we would have such paralyzing horror that it would be an affront to everything we know. Really what are people thinking? Next it will be Scat Zombies from Venus!

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

I tend to discourage the use of psionics IMTU, but that is not to say that I prohibit them entirely (although I used to). If a player expresses an interest in running a psionic character, I hand them a document entitled, "So You Want Be Psionic". It includes a few short stories about what might happen to a psionic character in the Imperium, what kinds of psionic creatures might be encountered, and what would likely happen to them if captured by the Zhos ... or the Hivers. It seems that IMTU, the Zhos will turn the characters over to the Tavrechedl for 're-education', and the Hivers will try to satisfy their own curiousity about what it is that makes the psionic human's brain so special.

And then, of course, there's that blatant ripoff of Babylon-5's Psicorps IMTU to worry about...

 

[gloriousbattle]

"So, if a player with psionics did something on an Imperial world with a moderate to high law level or a government that would take a dim view of such activity the likely result would be negative ranging from unwanted government interest in the party and individual up to persecution and arrest."

Traveller psionics, if played right, are meant to be subtle. Even the most powerful telepath will get off one psionic assault, and automatically whack one marine with battledress and fgmp-15, after which he is virtually helpless.

OTOH, what about a telepath who gets a job as a janitor at the sector stock exchange? Or who simply hangs near a teller-machine while reading the newspaper? Or a high level teleporter who cases the local bank, and then one night zaps himself into the vault, and then out into his car half the city away?

Such beings could become financial magnates in a very short period of time, and what could the Imperium possibly do about it, unless they themselves employ psionics, which could in turn involve those psionics becoming very rich men?

Lots of options, but subtle options, and, within the Traveller canon, there really is no option for "...you can't do that because the Imperium is always one step ahead..." How? The only anti-psi technology in canon Traveller is the psi shield helmet, and those are expensive, clumsy, fragile, and rare.

Of course, the GM can do whatever he wants, but this is why psionics is such a big deal in canon Traveller. Yes, it is wimpy compared to the magic of D&D or the psykers of 40k, but there is virtually nothing that anyone can do to stop it.

 

[aramis]

Most of my psionic PC's have also been Nobles, and had the warrants needed to not be immediately arrested for it.

 

[kafka47]

Damn right, they would be criminal scum unless I am running a Zhodani Campaign (which I have done) or that the party forms a protective family like environment which is what happened in the Traveller Adventure when a side quest found out two of the players were psionic.

The other alternative form the players I have offered is that that they become psi-Hunters in which the Imperium hires them to find other psychics forcing them to flee to the Consulate or Darrian space.

 

[Cryton]

IMTU My players aren't considered criminals for having Psionic abilitys, they are considered to be criminal each time they use their talents inside of 3I boarders however.

They are also considered criminals and terrorists when they go seeking illegal training and testing facilitys and donate/pay for their training and use, as the facilitys themselves are illegal by imperial law, and historically considered to be funded by interests that wish to undermine and overthrow the 3I.

Should they get caught in either case, the repercussions are pretty dire, up to and including being continuously hunted by 3I backed Bounty Hunters once they are discovered by the authoritys, and being lobotomized when they are finally caught.

Of course, this is all pretty standard for a 3I game, and my players know the risks every time they go looking for Psionic training. Never stops them. They think its all pretty "Jedi".

 

[leo knight]

I never ran a straight Imperium campaign, so this might not be useful.

Most of the PCs in my games committed several crimes before breakfast, so "Because it's wrong!" only made them want it more. My first campaign, my teenaged "Star Wars" rip-off, came the closest to the Imperium. The official line was no psionics, no how, no way. Unofficially, it was don't ask, don't tell. A useful talent was a useful talent. All sorts of folks had a pet psionic. Criminals, politicians, nobles, businessmen. It was like the old Soviet apparatchiks secretly indulging decadent western vices.

At the time, I kept thinking of the animated "Star Trek" adaptation of Larry Niven's "The Slaver Weapon". Yes, saw the cartoon before I read the story. Bad me. The Kzinti had a bedraggled telepath trying to probe the heros' minds. I also kept coming back to the Mentats in "Dune". 'Mentat' kept becoming 'psionic' in my head. The image of some weird guy standing off to the side, whispering in his master's ear just intrigued me. So of course, nearly everyone, even the Emperor, had a pet psionic!

Tragically, player characters don't make good pets.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

... Tragically, player characters don't make good pets.

Yoinked!

Sigworthy ... definately sigworthy ...

 

[gloriousbattle]

Tragically, player characters don't make good pets.

Oh sure they do. Just requires the proper application of a cattle prod.

 

[HiverLord]

In my current campaign there are only two players, and one is psionic. We're using the Gurps Trav rules (not as good as the original, but it's still Trav, right?)
The player wrote up this pc's background with having had a local 'teacher' (who was a minor telepath) and taught him mind shielding and basic thought reading. Then the teacher was captured by Imperial authoritities and later executed... taught the character to be 'very' careful, so he doesn't use his powers often.
Now of course IMTU things are changing, and psionics are SLOWLY being brought into the public main by Norris... (The campaign is set before the Imperial breakup).
I personally have no problems with psi pc's, as this gives another source of adventure seeds, as well as 'carrots and sticks' to lure/prod/coerce the players in particular directions...:devil:

 

[jatay3]

Honestly, sometimes I think most of the people who write the "persecuted psionics" trope in SciFi are unduly unsympathetic to the point of view of Mundanes. I would not want someone looking inside my mind.

Traveller at least gets a glimpse of the problem; that anti-psionic laws are hard luck on psis but the existence of psi powers is also rather hard luck on Mundanes. For one thing allowing two sides to a controversy is realistic. It also shows what would inevitably happen if a culture actually embraced psionics; people with such powers would simply become the ruling class and an even more arrogant one then many(Milord Upper Class might make me shine his boots but at least he can't make me love him for it).

In Traveller I assume that psi powers have to be deliberately trained and cultivated, at least among Vilani and Solimani(Zhos have bred to favor psi powers for thousands of years) and in their latent state they are harmless. In the Imperium their are rumors of the secret use of psis by the Imperium but they are not a part of ordinary life.

I don't have any psi PCs because I really haven't found a use for them. I did assume that there is folklore about mindlinks between loved ones because that is a rather romantic idea.

 

[McPerth]

ASIDE: PSIONICS IN MY VAMPIRE CAMPAIGN

Of course, the vampires hate psionics, as it represents the next development of sentient life, which they want to destroy, AND telepaths can easily sniff them out, thus, the anti-psi / anti-Zhodani policy of the Imperium is in place because the vampires who really run things want it to be so. The Zhodani are thus mildly the good guys, and the Psionics institutes are there to help free the enslaved Solomani and Vilani of the Imperium.

Just curious, as when we played vamipire we had once a talk about that. How do you handle the vampires sleep/vigil cycle when there's no sun arround (e.g. in jumpspace) and how do you handle the different effects different stellar classes may have on them?

When we talked about it (all of us have been traveller players before WW released vampire), one of the most difficult things we thought about (for a vampire to live at) was a tidially locked world, when sun was always as we see it at sunset. How did you handled this?

EDIT: perhaps that will merit a thread on its own?

 

[Jame]

Psionics can be cool, especially if played as "subtle pinpoint usage" or "hunted outlaw." We had in one of our games a psionic character, although the guy who originated the concept only played in two or three sessions before getting married and dropping out; the character was taken over by a new addition to the group eventually (but the player of the captain decided that the captain wanted to run a back and forth between two high-tech rich worlds and make a good route, so we had to switch to a bounty hunter campaign and the character got abandoned; the campaign also died when the GM moved). This character was used as a "pinpoint manipulator," of course.

While most of my characters are mundanes who believe that "psionics shouldn't be illegal, but it should be restricted from being used in the Zhodani way, damn those Zhodani" - not that they'd ever admit it (that would be "wrong," of course), I've never run psionics characters, and my limited GMing never included psionics, so I never learned how to run them.

 

[bat]

In MTU I have incorporated 40K level psionics-to those who are champions to the Chaos Gods.

With the premise they are starting with: The world they are on was suddenly cut off from other worlds as a powerful entity was summoned and unspeakable amounts of energy (Chaos) ripples over the planet. The summoned Thing is calling its champions from other dimenions and creating new champions out of the populace of the world. Psions are in danger or being corrupted by Chaos Psykers, who will grant them increased abilities, in exchange for loyalty to Chaos.
: it will be interesting to see where the players take the scenario.

This is my first ever "you awake from a sleep chamber" game and it is starting off fairly weird. Which I like. It is science-fantasy-horror with a lot of the usual trappings of "conventional" Traveller thrown out the window.

 

[pmbnss]

IMTU psionics are rare, and follow the Babylon 5 Psi-Corps model, with a few embellishments. Most telepaths are just that - telepaths, and are either nobles, or semi-servants of nobles.

Semi-psions are in fact more common. This takes the form of Navigation skill for use in navigating in jumpspace. Navigators don't get any other special abilities or rating, it is just assumed as part of Nav skill. In fact, it not really seen as "psionics" by the general populace, just a strong "knack" for moving a ships through the chaos of jumpspace. It also gives the Navigator something to be doing for the week.

That said, mundanes take a very dim view of teeps, so they are either in PsiCorps uniforms (and thus have threat of legitimate governmental authority behind them), are nobles, are hiding their powers, or are "harmless" navigators.

A few minor galactic states embrace psionics more readily, and actually work to "breed" homo sapiens superior, with some success. Powerful telepaths find lucrative careers in the Scouts, Navy, and Intelligence Services of all major empires. Except the Landstaat Polity which uses machine "readers" and computer-based psychosocial prediction algorithms.

 

[rancke]

Honestly, sometimes I think most of the people who write the "persecuted psionics" trope in SciFi are unduly unsympathetic to the point of view of Mundanes. I would not want someone looking inside my mind.

I don't want people spying on me in the privacy of my home, but I don't advocate persecuting spyware manufacturers. Nor do I want to be shot by a sniper, but I don't advocate cutting the index finger off gifted marksmen.

Traveller at least gets a glimpse of the problem; that anti-psionic laws are hard luck on psis but the existence of psi powers is also rather hard luck on Mundanes.

Just as the existence of smart people is rather hard luck on averagely and less-than-averagely intelligent people.

By persecuting all psis, the worlds of the Imperium have put themselves in a position where they can't use lawabiding psis to police criminal psis. When you criminalize psionics only criminals will use psionics. It's not only morally indefensible, it's stupid too.


Hans

 

[ThunderChilde]

I always saw a difference between Imperial Policy and Edicts, and what we do here on Mugot's World.

We don't hate or fear Psis, unless they do something to cause fear and loathing on an individual basis. If one is heinous enough, if we can capture it, by all rights hand it over to the Imperial Ministry of Justice over on the starport. They seem to know how to handle and punish such villians.