Thursday, June 20, 2019

A Mind is a Horrible Thing to WASTE

I'll let this class SPEAK for itself; it's pretty much an extension of my previous post on psionics, after I realized that I could carve it into a class (as I'm wont to do with any of my ideas).

Psion
Image may contain: 1 person
(art by Peter Mohrbacher)
You THINK, therefore you ARE.
Level 1: WORD, choose a Dictate
Level 2: Echoes, random Dictate
Level 3: Devotees, choose a Dictate
Level 4: Choose a Dictate, random Dictate

Hit Die: d6
Starting Equipment: Common clothes, light of inspiration in your eyes, sheaf of scribblings on the essential nature of the universe
Skills (d6):
1. Art
2. Hermitage
3. Languages
4. Lore
5. Occult
6. Poetry

WORD: You are a WORD. To wield your psionic powers, compose a sentence that uses your WORD as the main verb. Roll 1d6 for each word in the sentence. If the total is less than your INT, the sentence occurs, to the letter. If the total is greater, the GM gets to change 1 of the words in the sentence (besides your word) for each die that came up 3 or greater, then the new sentence takes effect. In any case, something will happen. Psionic effects only persist while you are within line of sight. You can only have (INT) words of effects going at any time.

Echoes: Where you walk, your WORD occurs around you and lingers. You know when others attempt to WORD around you, and once you have WORDed, the next (Psion level) others trying to WORD near you or in your footsteps have either advantage or disadvantage (your choice, though you must choose one for all WORDing).

Devotees: As you travel through populated areas, you collect disciples through the sheer power of your presence. They won't leave you alone, at least, not for long. You could grant them cosmic wisdom, or perhaps merely spread half-truths and white lies. Regardless, you have up to 10 hangers-on, collecting d6 in each town you come across (step die up or down in settlements of other sizes). Some will seek you out from far and wide. They will follow orders that you cloak in authority and mysticism - and are also easy fodder for your WORD, if you wish to wield it in less tasteful ways.

Dictates
1. Aeon. Your WORD transcends time itself. Temporal prepositions like when, tomorrow, in an hour, etc. do not count towards your word limit or contribute d6s to your roll.
2. Anagrammatist. You can also wield WORDs that are anagrams (whole or partial) of your WORD. If you do, it counts as 3 words for your sentence.
3. Animator. Your sentences can animate objects to perform your WORD. When you make a sentence, you can have an object around you wield your WORD as if it was speaking the sentence.
4. Ascetic. You can sustain yourself on WORDs alone. When you successfully speak a sentence of six or more words, you can heal a minor wound or ignore your need for a ration during a rest.
5. Dictator. Your wordness is far deeper than others. Others you can see must make a CHA save to WORD without your permission.
6. Empath. You hear thoughts of creatures within line of sight that align with your WORD. You can dive deeper into a creature's mind on a (Psion level)-in-6 and view a memory of your choice that aligns with your WORD.
7. Far Traveler. You can teleport to anywhere that is under the effect of one of your sentences. You may do this (Psion level) times per day.
8. Flesh-speaker. Your body is malleable, shaped by your WORD. References to you and your biology are immutable in your sentences, and you can maintain an additional (Psion level)*3 words of sentences referring to your body.
9. Gourmand. When you eat something, you can choose a WORD it is. That WORD is immutable in your sentences. You can only have (Psion level) of words eaten at any one time.
10. Icon. You have advantage on actions that involve your WORD, so long as you have an audience of at least 10 who know what you're doing.
11. Intensifier. Intensification or diminutive adjectives don't count to your word limit or contribute d6s to your roll.
12. Legate. Your sentences are LAW. If you wish, they can linger in a location even once you have departed. Whenever you pronounce a new LAW, there is a (Psion level)-in-6 that your previous LAWs remain in place even if this would exceed your INT in words.
13. Psirurgeon. You can implant thoughts with your WORD in others' minds on a (Psion level)-in-6. If you can read minds, you can also remove thoughts or memories with your WORD on a (Psion level)-in-6.
14. Punctual. Invent a piece of punctuation. You can use it in your sentences.
15. Scribe. You can wield WORDs that are one letter different from your WORD, either by replacement, addition, or deletion. If you do, it counts as 3 words for your sentence.
16. Seer. You can divine when a specific action with your WORD will take place. Compose and roll for a sentence as if you were trying to wield your WORD. If you succeed, you know when and where that action will next occur. If you fail, that future becomes cloudy, and you cannot divine it again.
17. Truenamer. Names do not count as words for your sentences, and are as immutable as your WORD.
18. Universal Linguist. You speak and understand all languages, but only when you are talking about a subject related to your WORD.
19. Warmind. Acts of violence you commit with your WORD will always cause harm to the target you intended.
20. World-Poet. You can also wield words that rhyme with your WORD. If you do, it counts as 3 words for your sentence.

Sample WORDs (d50)
1. ACCEPT
2. AM
3. BE
4. BECOME
5. BEGIN
6. BEND
7. BRING
8. BURN
9. CALL
10. CHANGE
11. CHOOSE
12. COME
13. COVER
14. CREATE
15. DEMAND
16. DENY
17. EAT
18. END
19. ENTER
20. EXCEED
21. EXPAND
22. FEEL
23. FIND
24. GIVE
25. GO
26. GROW
27. HELP
28. KEEP
29. KNOW
30. LEAVE
31. LEAVE
32. LIE
33. LOOK
34. LOVE
35. MOVE
36. NAME
37. NEED
38. PUSH
39. PUT
40. RUIN
41. SAVE
42. SHOW
43. SPEAK
44. STRIKE
45. TAKE
46. TEAR
47. THINK
48. TRY
49. TURN
50. WANT

3 comments:

  1. If the total of d6s comes up as greater than INT, but none are above a 3, does nothing happen? Unlikely, but still possible.

    Anyway, amazing class! Would you ever have a psion gain more than one WORD?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Should have a minimum of 1 change on a failure, maybe?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like this generally, but it feels like there's nothing to limit overuse or (beyond poorly-rolled d6s and GM rewrites) prevent things from going exactly as planned. For example, if a character had EAT and the "Truenamer" Dictate, couldn't they say e.g. "Charlie EATs himself" for as many people whose name they knew, up to their INT score? Unless their INT is abysmal, a sentence with that construction won't run a risk of rewrites.

    But I could be looking at this from the wrong direction.

    ReplyDelete

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