Ki versus Psionic: Power Sources Do Battle (in a semantic sort of way)

[Felon]

So, we've got ourselves a psionic monk, and the development team have dropped the ki power source. Just as easily, I suspect, they could have dropped the psionic power source and gone with ki for the traditional psionic classes. Ki is, after all, a self-derived power source. It has the same association with meditation, crystals, tattoos and other elements of mysticism that were associated with psionics in 3e, and in fiction the channeling of ki accomplishes many of the feats that psions and psychic warriors are capable of. And perhaps most compelling, it has a stronger assoiciation to the fantasy genre than the term "psionics".

On the other hand, despite the incongruent sci-fi connotation (or perhaps becasue of it), psionics has been around for a very long time in D&D. We had books devoted to them in 2e and 3e. So, there's a legacy value to consider.

Then yet again, maybe there's a better term out there waiting to grab us. I'm gonna go ahead and throw "mystic" out, just because it seems a raher obvious way to provide a broad umbrella for both ki and psionics to fall under, since in many forms it connotes the enhancement of mind, body, and spirit.

Yes, it's ultimately just semantics, but there's a reason why writers go nuts thinking of the perfect word to use in a sentence. Words meaning essentially the same thing can make very different impressions.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Ki is retarded, psionic is awesome.

Next!

 

[WarlockLord]

Psionic portrays a different power from magic. Ki sounds like "Asian class power source," while 'mystic' makes the classes sound magic, which they're not. They're psionic, which, any psionics fan will vehemently differentiate from magic.

 

[resistor]

I've thought for a long time that Psionics and Ki should be the same/related in settings that have both.

But, in worlds that have only one or the other, I can understand wanting some differentiation.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I'd call every power source magic, even Martial. Martial magic is perhaps the most subtle one as far as bending the laws of reality go, but you can still pull all opponents in a burst or shooting all targets in range, which go beyond what's in the realm of normal reality.

So calling psionics magic, wouldn't make much of a difference either, since Martial already is magical.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Psionics!

I have always liked psychic powers, and the pseudoscience terms and ideas of Psionics. So yeah Psionics for me all the way. Personally my one worry is having the Monk in Psionics will dilute/warp that a bit, but... If Psionics had already been in development before this switch then I think/hope Psionics will still have its feel to it.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Honestly I think it's case of potato/potahto. They're the same thing, just experienced by different folks. The words have different cultural associations. Ki/Chi is of course Asian and has a venerable history of mysticism, healing, martial arts and loads of other stuff. Psi is modern, western, has scientific trappings attached.

They also focus on some different things. Psionics always has telepathy and usually telekinesis and pyrokinesis in its, er, remit. Things that reach out from the source. Ki/Chi is more internally focussed. Not entirely, there is that classic 'ring the bell without touching it' schtick and of course healing but most of it looks to me like enhanced physical attributes. But both rely on mind over matter.

Psionics has borrowed a lot of paraphenalia/trappings/tradition from the much more ancient Ki/Chi.

So in terms of choosing which word to use: use the one that conjures the sort of cultural allusions you wish to conjure on that particular instance.

Oh and I'd say Mysticism was too vague. Any DnD magic could be described as mystic. So if you want a word to delineate Psi/Ki/Chi from, say, Arcane magic I wouldn't use it.

 

[lutecius]

Mystic is too vague. It could include arcane or divine magic.

Ki is too specific. There are similarities and I believe Eastern philosophies have heavily influenced the modern notion of psychic powers. But while most traditional monk powers could be explained as psionics, I don't think the reverse is true. I don't think mind-reading or mind-control, for example, are common ki tropes.

So I voted Psionic, also for historical reasons.

But I'm not a fan of power sources to begin with. Some classes use a mix of physical, intellectual and magical talents and attributing them all to a single power source makes no sense.
I prefer names describing what the powers do rather than where they come from (ie telepathy, telekinesis and you could call the monk's mind-over-body powers psychometabolism or ki)

 

[I'm A Banana]

I would have been OK with "mystic," but I'd guess that the 4e psionic will drop all pseudo-science.

Which is kind of sad for my steampunk game of flying robots piloted by WWII aces and mech-worshipping gear druids, but pretty good news for bog-standard blah fantasy, I'd guess.

I'll go on record as saying "Ki" is kind of a dumb word for a vague concept in general. It's like having a "magic" power source instead of an "arcane" power source. The less I see that word tossed around the better.

 

[ryryguy]

I'm not a huge fan of psionics in general, but I prefer the term over "ki".

"Mystic" is not a bad offering. I almost voted for it. It fits the monk class very well, and seems like it would be all right for the traditional psionic classes as well. It just doesn't quite make it over the top for me in the end.