D&D General So, how much did/do you use psionics?

[Yaarel]

So far the psionics not being commonly used is leading by a lot. (9 used it in roughly 1/2 or more campaigns, 10 used it in a few campaigns, and 33 just a few times or never).

I read the responses so far as: more 1e players always use Psionics, than never, and for most players it happens now and then.

 

[Shadowedeyes]

Never played 1e.

I've played the 3e Psion one time, and I guess technically the Monk was psionic in 4e, which I played for a session or two in one of the few times our group tried to get into 4e.

Ultimately, I am of the opinion that psionics, in virtually any edition I've played, has not added much. We had a Soulblade one time in a 5e game I ran, but the player ended up switching to a Warlock/Monk multiclass that he had more fun with.

 

[Clint_L]

But put them in he did; psionics have been there since Supplement III in '76, and Gygax kept them in AD&D; they've endured as a distinct power source at least up through 4e; and so they're part of the fabric of the game.

He put them in as an optional rule. They were widely criticized and seldom used. They are far from integral to D&D; most adventures and settings completely ignore them. Comparing them to magic is absurd.

Not to mention that even if you were to use the optional rule in 1e, there was a vanishingly small chance of a player character legitimately acquiring them.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

From AD&D through 4Ed, I have used psionics in most of the campaigns I’ve run, plus many times when it was an option in a campaign in which I was a player. And I’ve designed many psionic PCs that have never been used.

 

[Lanefan]

He put them in as an optional rule. They were widely criticized and seldom used. They are far from integral to D&D; most adventures and settings completely ignore them. Comparing them to magic is absurd.

Not to mention that even if you were to use the optional rule in 1e, there was a vanishingly small chance of a player character legitimately acquiring them.

Based solely on my own experience I disagree as to the bolded: the campaign I'm currently running is the only 1e or 1e-adjacent campaign I've ever seen that doesn't use psyonics.

And I suppose I should probably note somewhere here that a long time ago (as in, around when I first strted DMing) I rebuilt psyonics from the ground up, for two reasons: I couldn't make head or tail of Gygax's system, and I wanted to incorporate a bunch of Deryni-based ideas. Result: probably ended up worse than the original system. Several further attempts at rebuilding psyonics over the years didn't do much better, which is largely why I gave up on them for this go-round.

That said, I have a highly-psyonic character in the game I play in, which comes in handy and can be lots of fun but also paints a great big target on her little Elven forehead.

 

[DammitVictor]

Also, people who didn't play 1e are apparently very likely to be angry and non-communicative. ;-)

I'm sure learning to play D&D would help them with that.

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Tongue very much in cheek here; I am very much "with D&D", even that weird stuff that Piratecat plays.

 

[Mark Hope]

We used them a few times in 1e but the system was kinda clunky and it interfered with the flow of play. Used them more in 2e, both as a new type of power appearing in my homebrew and of course all the freaking time in my Dark Sun games. In 3e, only used them in DS.

 

[Horwath]

in 5E I played Aberrant mind Sorcerer with Telekinetic feat, Metamagic adept, Spell point variant and spellpoints and sorcery points melted into one pool. It was a blast. Closest that 5E can get to psionics.

 

[GrimCo]

Never played 1ed.

Used in 2ed in my Dark Sun game.

In 3.5 i played one character for couple of sessions, can't remember what class it was tbh. Used it again in my Dark Sun game. Imho, Dark Sun is only setting of which psionics are integral part and mesh well with lore and theme. Used them also in short lived d20 modern based Star Wars for Jedi knights and in my space opera homebrew d20modern game where i banned casters. As a DM, i have never outright baned them. Players could always pick any psionic class if they wanted. They just didn't. For generic fantasy games i treated them as just another form of magic, so anti magic, SR and such work same for casters and psionics.

4e - stoped playing before they introduced them

5e- never played one, none of others in my group played one. They are just kind of meh.

 

[Steampunkette]

I really do love when I wake up in the morning and check EN World and there's another ping about Paranormal Power.

I'm so happy I wrote that book. <3